Chorley Pubwatch gets tought on violent offenders

PUBLICANS IN Chorley, Lancashire, are getting tough on violent offenders by banning them from their premises for five years.

The decision follows mounting anger over the lenient sentences being handed out to those committing violent assaults on licensed premises.

David Hamer, vice-chairman of Chorley Pubwatch and licensee at the Fox and Grapes, said the initiative had been introduced to curb the number of assaults on both customers and staff.

"Previously, people on our Pubwatch list have been banned for 12 months, but now we will ban them from every pub in Chorley town centre for five years," he said.

Under the proposals the maximum five-year ban will be handed out to anyone who commits an act of violence towards licensees, staff or customers. People who use abusive behaviour or threaten violence will face bans of up to three years.

Chairman of Chorley Pubwatch Peter Verhaege, who runs the Applejax nightclub, was himself a victim of an attack inside his club some 13 months ago.

One of his attackers was given a 12-month community order and 60 hours community service last week. Peter said he was ³disgusted by the paltry² sentence. He said: "What happened to me was pure thuggery. Giving derisory sentences to people will not act as a deterrent. We¹re trying to lessen the impact within the industry, and hope it will have some influence on quelling crime."

Peter, who is still receiving medical treatment on facial injuries sustained from the attack, said the tough new measures had received unanimous backing.

He said: "If the courts don¹t protect us, we¹ll have to protect ourselves."