A BAN on people drinking alcohol in taxis could be consdiered as part of a plan to make Rossendale people feel safer.

The idea from Councillor Nick Pilling came as the council considered a draft community safety policy which will be adopted across all services within the council to take into account all aspects of community safety in all aspects of its work. Coun Pilling said: "We need to work with public transport to promote safer travel and we need to include the taxi trade. One of the problems licensees are faced with is people rolling up outside pubs and coming into the pubs carrying bottles and glasses. We could look at enforcing a ban on carrying alcohol in taxis." Councillors want to help ensure Rossendale is a safe place to live, work, visit and invest to help make sure communities feel safe.

Trish Ellins, strategy officer, said in a report: "All service areas need to take into account that community safety is a cross cutting issue and should be linked to all strategic planning issues including regeneration, town centre management, policy research, and Best Value performance reviews.

"Community safety should be included in all service plans, reviews and committee papers. The cost of community safety issues including vandalism and crime information should be collated."