EVERY town has its trouble-prone pubs where, too often, drink-inspired violence breaks out and its victims end up at hospital, frequently creating more bother there. And any scheme which may curb this menace - if only for the sake of the hard-pressed doctors and nurses who have far better things to do than patch up abusive thugs - deserves examination.

But Home Secretary Jack Straw is running into concern among licensees on his own East Lancashire patch over plans to "name and shame" pubs with a record of booze-fuelled violence.

The information would come from a league table of trouble-spots compiled by casualty staff.

The landlords say they have already have the problem well under control and operate schemes to exclude offenders from their pubs.

Quite rightly they point out that pubs are not the only places where drink-driven violence occurs.

It would seem more consultation is needed with them over this scheme.

But, if they are questioning its necessity on the grounds that they have pub violence under control, they surely have little to fear from it, as a lack of incidents can hardly lead to an outbreak of naming and shaming.

However, evidence from elsewhere suggests that where pub violence does occur, it can be successfully combated by the publication of lists of the bars in which it has happened.

Indeed, there has been remarkable success in the project operated in Cardiff by staff at the city's Royal Infirmary who logged 415 assault victims from pubs and clubs in the first eight months of last year.

They saw the toll drop by a fifth when a league table of 60 bars from where the injured came was published.

And vicious attacks involving bottles and glasses dropped to virtually nil.

It is little wonder Mr Straw has been impressed.

Although licensees in East Lancashire have reservations about the scheme being extended to our region, they can hardly object if even more is done to ensure their pubs remain peaceful, even if most already are.

Certainly, hospital casualty staff would welcome such assurance - and deserve it.

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