Authorities aim to stop Facebook beach party

Torbay Council says it is working hard with police to stop the all-weekend Facebook beach party which could see 10,000 revellers invade the resort.

However a spokeswoman for the South Devon council said any plans to ban pubs and off-licences from selling alcohol would be a "last resort" as part of a contingency plan.

"We are asking people not to attend," she said. "Every event of this kind has to be licensed and there are also health and safety issues to take into account."

But she added: "If the event goes ahead and we are having real problems then we will enforce the ban."

The event, scheduled to kick-off on Friday (July 4) evening, has been advertised on the social networking site as "the biggest open party Torbay has ever seen".

Party-goers are encouraged to bring "enough alcohol to last you all weekend!"

So far more than 7,000 people have said they may be attending.

However one licensee in the area is furious with police after being sent a letter warning him of the potential ban on alcohol sales, which could be enforced under Section 160 of the Licensing Act.

Brian Harris, licensee of the Yacht, Torquay, said: "It's a ridiculous response to the situation. It's the police trying to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"If you decide to have a party on the beach you go to the supermarket, not the local pub."

However Harris said he was convinced the police would stop the event going ahead.

But Steve Goss, spokesman for the South Devon Licensed Victuallers' Association and licensee of the Clocktower in Torquay, said he was confident the police would handle the situation well.

"If we have to close for an hour, so be it. I would not have a problem with it," he said.