A consultation over proposals to ban boozing in every street across Blackburn and Darwen has been delayed.

Councillors at a full council meeting agreed that the scheme should be discussed further before the plans are shown to the public.

The Public Places Order would make it an arrestable offence to continue to drink if a person has been asked to stop by a police officer.

If it is approved, Blackburn with Darwen would become one of the first areas in the country to introduce a borough-wide alcohol restriction.

Police and council chiefs believe order would help tackle the alcohol-related anti-social behaviour that blights many people's lives.

It was hoped that a public consultation could start this month but that will now be delayed after pleas from Labour councillors on Blackburn with Darwen Council for it to be discussed further at a scrutiny committee .

Coun Andy Kay said police already had powers to confiscate alcohol from people behaving in an anti-social way.

He said: "I am asking for more detail in the proposals and some concrete aims and objectives."

Coun Alan Cottam, chairman of the community safety partnership, said he wanted the matter to go out for public consultation in its current form.

He said: "It is a sad sign of the times that this order is necessary because of the decline in people's behaviour.

A strict ban on drinking in public has been imposed in Blackburn town centre since 2002.

But the new ban will allow officers to turn a blind eye' in certain situations, such as if a family was having a drink with a picnic in a park.

If an officer decides to take action, he would have the power to order someone to hand their alcohol over or risk being arrested or fined.

According to statistics for 2006/7, alcohol was a factor in 10 per cent of anti-social incidents in the borough, while a third of violent crime involved people under the influence of alcohol.