Pubs in Chorley will soon be working together to stamp out drunken violence following the launch of a new initiative.

Under the scheme, louts could be banned from every pub in town.

Pub Watch is set to unite local licensees by allowing them to swiftly alert each other at the first sign of trouble.

The aim of the scheme, set up in partnership with police and council bosses, is to pass messages about rowdy behaviour from one pub to another.

It will also help police apply for exclusion orders to keep troublemakers out of all town centre pubs.

Participating pubs will display posters and police hope a radio link system will be up and running in the New Year.

Sergeant Max Duke, head of town centre operations, said: "The idea is to reduce unsociable behaviour in the town centre. Each pub will have nominated contact numbers so they can warn other pubs close by about potential problems."

Andy Sterling, of the Tut 'N' Shive, Market Street, who has been appointed co-ordinator for local licensees, said: "Hopefully this will create a common way of dealing with trouble and promote co-operation between different breweries."

Police licensing manager, Sergeant Geoff Sumner, said: "We have had a few incidents and we want to stop people getting the impression that Chorley is a dangerous place to be on a Friday and Saturday night.

"Eleven of the two centre pubs have agreed to join the scheme and the other four are expected to come on board in the next few days. It's closely linked to the registration scheme for door staff that the council is setting up."

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