Nine out of 10 doormen licensed

Nine out of 10 pub doorstaff were found to be properly licensed during national inspections over Christmas and New Year.

More than 400 door supervisors were checked at 158 pubs and clubs in 12 areas during the Security Industry Authority's (SIA) Operation Cinnamon.

Three areas - central Leicester, Hartlepool town centre and Blackburn - had a 100% pass rate.

The two areas with the most failures were in Scotland - Hawick, Gallashields & Kelso, plus Dalkieth & Musselburgh. In Scotland the SIA licensing regime was implemented in 2007, three years after England and Wales.

Reasons for failures included working without a licence, not displaying a licence and deploying unlicensed doorstaff.

Jackie Munn, SIA head of investigation who led Operation Cinnamon, said: "It is encouraging that there were several areas where compliance was 100%.

"Unfortunately, there are still those who think it is acceptable to deploy staff or work without SIA licences, or break licence conditions - this has put them at serious risk of prosecution.

"Operation Cinnamon focused on working closely with our partners during the busy festive period and I should like to thank them for their commitment and support.

"We will continue our activities to ensure door staff working at licensed premises are properly trained and licensed to promote a safe environment for the public."