ALCOHOL-induced problems are fast becoming one of the blights of society. Police and officials across the country have introduced a number of new measures in a bid to combat the nuisance associated with it, including schemes to stamp out violence and anti-social behaviour. Reporter CAROLINE DUTTON looks at the extent of the problem in East Lancashire and whether it can be solved. . .

IT IS A TALE of two towns - Blackburn by day and Blackburn by night.

During the daylight hours shoppers happily bustle around the streets, women and children browse the market stalls and teenagers hang around the mall laughing with friends.

But after dark the night's silence is broken as thousands of pubbers and clubbers tumble out of popular town centre drinking holes.

As hordes of young men and women queue for takeaways and taxis, frustrations grow, tempers flare and fights start. Shop doorways turn into public urinals and violence prevails.

And it's all down to one thing...alcohol.

This week Blackburn with Darwen Council announced plans to turn the town centre into a giant taxi rank in a bid to reduce violence by whisking booze-fuelled revellers home at the end of the night.

The scheme, which starts this weekend, received a mixed response, with taxi operators welcoming it, but some publicans claiming it wouldn't work and shop owners suggesting the scheme would only focus the crime and disorder in a specific area.

A similar scheme introduced in Southsea, Hampshire, three years ago, saw anti-social behaviour and crime levels fall dramatically. But can Blackburn can enjoy the same success?

The turnaround in Southsea began after Portsmouth City Council commissioned the local university's criminal justice studies department to find out how they could quell night-time violence.

The town has a celebrated night scene with dozens of pubs, clubs and bars enjoyed by thousands of revellers every weekend.

Senior tutor Catherine Tedstone and Barry Loveday, who co-wrote the report, said the obvious answer was to ferry people away from the area quickly.

Mr Loveday, said: "Without doubt what we discovered was because people didn't want to wait for ever for taxis they would walk away from the area.

"We could track their journeys home by the reports of criminal damage from residents. That's where a lot of the assaults took place as well, not in the clubs but after they closed and people were walking home.

"In Southampton the club owners put on coaches at the end of the night and the club stewards actually chaperone the coaches to their destinations."

Miss Tedstone said: "We totted up the club capacities and realised we were looking at a possible 3,700 people leaving clubs in one area between 2am and 3am. We told the council to increase the number of taxis and recommended club owners stagger leaving times. We also recommended an end to buy-one-get-one-free offers on drinks."

Their advice was taken and crime and anti-social behaviour rates fell.

But East Lancashire's alcohol-induced problems are not restricted to town centre trouble at weekends.

A total of 274 people died, and almost 2,000 across East Lancashire were the victims of violent crime last year - all because of booze, according to a report released this week.

Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trust have joined forces with Pennine Police in an attempt to beat the problems created by alcohol abuse.

They will visit schools and are developing detoxification and counselling services.

But as always, finding money to fund such schemes is proving difficult. In September the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed how alcohol action workers claimed they were watching people die because of a lack of funding.

On Wednesday top Blackburn doctor David Grimes warned of the dangers of drinking strong lagers and beers, saying many people had no idea of the strength of their tipple and what harm it could do.

His warning came at the inquest of 69-year-old Oswaldtwistle man Allen Wood who died of alcoholic sclerosis of the liver after drinking just two-and-a-half pints of strong lager every night.

Dr Grimes said if Mr Wood had been drinking ordinary strength beer he would have been safe.

A MORI poll, commissioned by Alcohol Concern, supports Dr Grimes' worries.

It found few British people were aware of the safe drinking limits recommended by the medical experts.

Only seven per cent of men and 22 per cent of women knew the daily allowances are three to four units of alcohol for men and two to three for women.

Alcohol Concern's Sophie Davison said better education of the public about the alcohol content of drinks is needed.

She said: "People just aren't aware of what they're drinking and people drinking at home often pour themselves larger drinks than you'd get in a pub, so the unit system goes out of the window."