Pub is first to opt for toughened glass only

Related tags Toughened glass Glass

A pub where a customer was struck with a half pint tumbler has volunteered to be first in Scotland to use only toughened glass. Glasgow venues are...

A pub where a customer was struck with a half pint tumbler has volunteered to be first in Scotland to use only toughened glass.

Glasgow venues are already forced by the city licensing board to use only toughened glass or plastic after midnight, but the Rendezvous Bar in Scotstounhill is the first to ditch normal glassware altogether - at the owner's request.

After the assault in his bar last month owner John Melville asked the licensing board to attach a condition to his licence banning standard glasses from the premises.

He said: "As a family-run pub with an excellent regular clientele we'll do anything to avoid trouble of any kind.

"The glass attack in December happened when a complete stranger walked in, and there was an altercation."

Strathclyde Police are urging city licensees to switch to exclusively toughened glasses, arguing that an annual city toll of nearly 60 glass attacks in pubs is too high a price to pay.

However police also concede some glasses - for example those used for several premium continental brands - aren't available in toughened format.

Rendezvous manager Joseph Murphy said: "We don't have any fancy brands needing special glassware, and our main glasses - Tennent's Lager and Guinness - have been toughened as standard for years.

"We certainly don't want to cause hassle for many fellow licensees who do have more complicated glassware requirements.

"But we felt we had to respond to the incident in our pub by taking the initiative."

He added: "Getting rid of all the glass immediately will cost us a few hundred quid, at a time when two nearby pubs have shut and conditions are very challenging, but we have to show we take our responsibility very seriously."

South of the border government trials have also been taking place in pubs with toughened pint glasses produced by the Design Council.

Related topics Spirits & Cocktails

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