Troublemakers face being banned from every pub in town centre (From Swindon Advertiser)

Troublemakers face being banned from every pub in town centre

8:54am Thursday 26th July 2007 in News By Gareth Bethell

Troublemakers in Swindon town centre will find themselves banned from every pub if they cause problems in any of the bars.

New Banned From One, Banned From All' posters have gone up in the 20 Pubwatch venues today making the rules clear to revellers.

Nicky Fitzgerald, chairwoman of the town centre Pubwatch, hopes it will help make the area safer.

"We want to make it a more enjoyable and safer place for people to go out at the weekend," she said.

"Now if somebody is violent in a pub or abusive to a member of staff or persistently behave irresponsibly, by getting too drunk, they will be banned from all the pubs, rather than just the one where they cause a problem."

Nicky says that while some people will end up barred from all the pubs, the idea is that the prospect of a total ban will be enough to make people behave.

"We will be able to say to them You really want to behave or you won't be able to go in any of the pubs'," she said. "As an organisation of responsible licensees we won't tolerate irresponsible behaviour.

"The problem is people think there is trouble all the time in the town centre and there isn't.

"Swindon isn't any different from any other town centre, apart from that we are trying really hard to improve the image and not be blasé."

Last week the Adver revealed that police will introduce a new three strikes rule in the town centre from August 1.

Anyone arrested for booze-fuelled trouble three times in 12 months faces a two-year Asbo banning them from the town centre altogether.

Police have welcomed Pubwatch's new total ban plan.

Town centre beat manager PC Andy Alexander said: "This just goes to show how everybody is involved in improving the area."