Pubs in Kingston forced to use polycarbonates

Pubs opening after midnight in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, have been forced to use polycarbonate glasses.

Kingston Council claims pubs and late-night venues have voluntarily agreed to a condition recommending that all town centre pubs use polycarbonates, after a spate of glass-related attacks.

However, licensees say they have been pressured to use plastic with the blanket ban being enforced across all venues in the town.

Jenny Pugh, who recently took over as licensee of the riverside pub Porter Black¹s in Kingston, said that the previous licensees "were put under pressure from the council to use them", and they were already in use when she arrived.

Shakil Chowdrury, duty manager of the Bishop Out of Residence, said: "It's a fine line. They are being quite softly softly at the moment, and saying "you assess it, but we're encouraging you do it".

"It's a precautionary measure, but some people who pay £3.35 for a pint are quite unhappy about drinking it out of a plastic glass."

Peter Groves, principle licensing officer, Kingston Council, said that polycarbonate usage was "not written into its licensing policy as such²" but that "virtually all town-centre pubs" in Kingston now used them.

"We've never had any hard or fast data about the number of glassings, but the police created a strong impression that polycarbonates were needed, and the licensing committee then imposed conditions on town-centre pubs."

PC Simon Bates, licensing officer, Kingston police, said that the decision was made in conjunction with the local Pubwatch, and praised the attitude of town centre licensees.

He added that violent incidents "have now almost disappeared" since most venues switched.