Glasgow bid to cut out glass

By John Harrington Police chiefs in Glasgow are urging licensees to ditch glass containers in a bid to cut serious attacks. Officers said that shifting to plastic or shatterproof glasses and bottles would drastically cut the number of casualties in pubs across the city. In the coming months officers will visit every licensee to promote their glass-free policy. The move comes as Weston-super-Mare investigates the introduction of plastic bottles. At the moment at least one person in the centre of Glasgow is seriously injured in a glass attack each week. Richard McLuckie, licensing sergeant in the city centre, said: "People are searched on their way into nightclubs, but inside they're sold a bottle which could be used as a weapon. "We are trying to take the weapons off them, working with manufacturers to promote the idea among licensees." Eddie Tobin, chairman of the Bar Entertainment and Dance Association Scotland and also the chairman of five nightclub forums that support the glass-free initiative, said that plastic containers were particularly important for clubs that appeal to younger drinkers. "I believe that in years to come we will not be drinking out of glass because it is dangerous. There's a number of premises using plastic across Scotland and the surveys carried out by ourselves show no customer resistance." But Tobin stressed that the change should be voluntary. He said: "I don't support the need for legislation and I don't support the need for a minimum requirement for the city to go plastic." Some pub owners are less keen on turning plastic. One licensee, who declined to be named, said that the initiative should be targeting clubs rather than pubs. He said: "The problem is with the clubs and their ludicrous pricing policy which encourages binge drinking and leads to violence. Why should tourists in the city be expected to drink from plastic glasses?