Powers to ban troublemakers from pubs extended

Powers to impose orders banning drunken troublemakers have been extended to 25 new areas from today.

Drink Banning Orders (DBOs) give magistrates the power to ban people aged over 16 from certain areas upon conviction. The orders are designed to tackle persistent alcohol related anti-social behaviour.

Magistrates are also able to attach conditions to the orders such as banning people from drinking in public or visiting named pubs, bars and off-licences.

The orders can last from between two months and two years and anyone who breaches a DBO is liable for a fine of up to £2,500.

DBOs were initially introduced to 24 local justice areas in England, and one in Wales, in April. From today a further 25 locations have been added.

If the scheme is a success it will be rolled out nationwide, according to a Home Office source.

Home Office Minister James Brokenshire said: "We remain concerned about the number of alcohol related incidents and the drink-fuelled violence and disorder that blight many of our towns and cities.

"The extension of Drinking Banning Orders on conviction to a further 25 local justice areas will help local communities manage problem individuals and will also help those individuals to address the reasons for their behaviour."

Brokenshire is also the minister overseeing the government's plans to overhaul the Licensing Act.

The 25 areas DBOs can be used from today are; Birmingham, Bristol, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, City of Westminster, Denbighshire, East Berkshire, Fenland, Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Gwent, Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea, Hartlepool, Lambeth and Southwark, Manchester City, Mansfield, Merthyr Tydfil, Newcastle-upon-Tyne District, North East Derbyshire and Dales, North East Suffolk, North Kent, North Tyneside District, Northampton, Plymouth District, Sedgemoor, West Cornwall, West Hertfordshire.

DBOs can already be used in Cardiff, Central and South West Staffordshire, City of London, City of Salford, Corby, Coventry District, Doncaster, East Dorset, East Kent, Fylde Coast, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Halton, Hull and Holderness, Leicester, Lincoln District, North Staffordshire, Nottingham, Reading, Southampton, South Devon, South East Hampshire, Southern Derbyshire, Sussex (Central), Teeside, Wakefield.