MANY towns across the country face the same problem on Friday and Saturday nights when nightclubs and pubs empty revellers on to the streets.

Scores of people fuelled by drink are looking for scarce taxis to get them home - and that's a recipe for trouble.

Arguments begin as drunken youths clutching takeaway meals hang around waiting, and rapidly escalate into fights.

Since April, for example, 171 crimes have been committed around the Darwen Street area of Blackburn - mainly assaults and public order offences.

Now, after looking into the problem, police and council officials have come up with what they hope will be a solution.

Private hire firms will be able to queue with taxis for business in the crucial early hours so plenty of cabs will be around to whisk people home fast and stop frustration turning into anger and street violence.

Some areas will be coned off to prevent accidents and provide an easy route in and out of the centre for vehicles.

Operation Indigo is a sensible approach which should be adopted by other towns when its success is proved.

It looks like being a big step towards removing the 'teenagers only' image the town centre has attracted at night.