COUNCIL bosses have vowed to review Blackburn's town centre drinking ban after it has failed to control the Boulevard drunks.

The review came after a drunken member of the Bouley Gang had to be carried away by police after standing on the pedestrian crossing outside the railway station draped in a Union Jack.

In September, 21-year-old Anthony Smith, became the first person to be prosecuted after Blackburn with Darwen Council and police introduced a ban on street drinking in the town centre.

But moments after appearing in court,where he received a conditional discharge, he was spotted drinking from a bottle of sherry in the street.

Appearing before Blackburn magistrates after the latest incident last week, Smith, of Ewood Caravan Park, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to being drunk and incapable.

He was given another conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £50 costs. A charge of being drunk and disorderly was withdrawn.

The maximum sentence he could have been handed was a £500 fine and police today said they were disappointed with the punishment, which was "obviously not acting as a deterrent."

Council leader Coun Bill Taylor said he would call a summit meeting between the police and the council to review the no-drinking policy with the pledge of strengthening the ban if he felt it necessary.

He said: "I will set up a meeting with the chief executive of the council, Phil Watson, and Eastern Division police divisional commander John Thompson about the ban.

"If it needs strengthening, I will talk to Blackburn MP Jack Straw about it.

"The ban was brought in to the make the town centre a safe place for legitimate users. As well as doing themselves harm, these drinkers are not a good avert for the town centre."

The Crystal Clear ban was introduced in April in a bid to crack down on drink-related violence.

It was launched under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which gives councils the power to impose no-drinking zones in areas where it is expected to lead to a reduction in crime.

Posters and street signs were erected warning people they would face police action if caught boozing in the streets in Blackburn.

But it came under fire after a spate of incidents involving drinkers calling themselves the "Bouley Gang."

Chief Inspector Tracey O'Gara of Blackburn police said today: "The ban is working in terms of why it was introduced in the first place. It was to reduce alcohol related violent crime in the town centre, such as glass-related injuries, and clean up the town centre.

"There is a very clear distinction between the two types of people targeted by the ban.