PUB landlords in Blackburn have welcomed plans for a major crackdown on boozy troublemakers.

Blackburn MP and Home Secretary Jack Straw is aiming to call time on the lager louts with a series of tough new measures.

The Licensed Victuallers' Association has been celebrating the announcement following a 10-year campaign for changes in the law.

The new rules will be introduced in the Government's Crime and Disorder Bill due to be published early next year.

They will include a clampdown on regular troublemakers and will give the police new powers to impose curfews and ban people from pubs and town centres.

The aim is encourage town halls, police, landlords and the courts to work together to get rid of the louts and drunken behaviour from town centres.

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "Towns centres across the country like Blackburn are facing problems of violent disorder linked to drunkenness. "Young men are making town centres unpleasant places to be on a Saturday night.

"We want to make town centres a welcome place for everyone, including families."

The spokesman added: "Blackburn is a good example of how the police and the council have co-operated on a variety of schemes to make the town a safer place to be in the evening.

"We want to extend the powers already in place so the police can deal effectively with the troublemakers."

Geoff Sutcliffe, chairman of Blackburn's licensed victuallers association, said: "There are always some people who will cause trouble after they have had a drink and these new measures will be more than welcome.

"New laws were brought in a decade ago but they have always been difficult to enforce."

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