PUB and nightclub staff in Darwen say the new Pub Watch scheme ensured a trouble-free Christmas and New Year.

Seven licensed premises in the town have taken advantage of the scheme which involves licensees alerting each other via a radio if troublemakers are in the area. It is run in conjunction with Blackburn with Darwen Security Link, which warns shopkeepers.

If a person is found committing acts of violence or damage, or dealing drugs, they will be barred from all premises in the Blackburn with Darwen Security Link.

Licensee of the Millstone pub Carl Done said: "We have an open channel radio which means we can be in constant touch with the other pubs. The idea is to get troublemakers out of the town centre, and it has been working. We have refused entry to people we have been warned are out causing trouble. It is a good deterrent and we have definitely had less trouble this Christmas."

Julia Bracewell of the Bar Java club, said: "We have turned people away after being warned about them. I feel a lot safer knowing the police are only a couple of minutes away and it has meant we have had a trouble-free time."

The scheme bans people from pubs as well as shops and is run by a core committee of retailers and licensees who make all the decisions regarding the barring of customers.

Insp Graham Ashcroft, of Darwen police, said he was pleased the Pub Watch was shown to be working. He said: "If people have a common aim and stand up to hooligans as a united front, it does put them in a lot stronger position.

"And if somebody gets banned from one place they could end up getting banned from a lot of other places in the town which will make them realise how foolish their behaviour has been."

When the scheme was introduced, crime prevention officer for Eastern Division PC Richard Green said it sent a clear message to those who used violence or committed other types of crime in pubs or shops that their behaviour would not be tolerated.