Dedicated police team sets out to catch staff who serve drunks
Undercover police will check if bar staff are serving drunks at pubs and clubs in Hull.
Four plain-clothed officers - known as "spotters" - will patrol the city centre and other hotspots looking for people who are drunk and staggering.
They will follow the drunks to see if they try to buy more alcohol at a pub or club.
If they are served, the spotter will alert a uniformed officer who will issue the bar worker with an £80 on-the-spot fine.
If the case is deemed serious enough or the venue has a history of serving drunks, police will consider a move to revoke the venue's licence.
The campaign is due to start mid-February and will last at least until the end of March.
Hosts will be briefed about the operation at a meeting of the town's Responsible Licensees Forum this week.
"It's not a case of going out there and persecuting licensees, bar staff and door staff," said inspector Mick Stevenson, who is leading the campaign.
"What we are looking for are people who are clearly drunk and shouldn't be going to licensed premises and consuming more alcohol."
Stevenson said he did not expect to issue many fines. "The door staff and licensees are very good but there's the odd one or two who are not as vigilant."
He said no bar workers have been fined as yet.
Yannis Grammenos, manager at Wolverhampton & Dudley's Biarritz pub in Hull's George Street, said licensees support the campaign adding:"We all want our pubs to be full of people who are out to have a good time but not get drunk. It only takes one drunk to empty your bar if they start being violent."
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