CALLS have been made to ban drinking in every street in Worcester to defeat the alcohol-fuelled yob culture.

Coun Bob Peachey said he wants to "ban drinking in the whole city and forget about it forever" in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Worcester City Council has applied six separate alcohol bans in various parts of the city so far, without going all the way.

Coun Peachey said: "I had the misfortune of being on this council when an order was first discussed for the city centre - at the time I said all it would do is move the problem sideways.

"Year after year we come back and we approve one somewhere else. I have no doubts we will be back again. Why don't we have a ban in the whole city, do it in one go and forget about it forever?"

The idea has been supported by Coun Gareth Jones, who said "the sooner we have a ban in the whole city, the better off we will be".

The comments were made as the council approved yet another new order to the Central Mosque and St Paul's Hostel, Tallow Hill.

As the Worcester News reported yesterday, Worcester suffers from a rate of violent crime far higher than average - and police say alcohol plays a significant role in that.

Orders can only be applied to areas where the council can show police proof of a problem. The police have already said they "welcomes initiatives" to bring them in - as long as evidence is there.

The orders give police powers to arrest people if they refuse to stop drinking when asked, and are not outright bans per-se.

The council is still keen to promote the cafe culture in Worcester and thinks the order will protect those wanting to "sip a glass of wine" peacefully.

Leader Coun Simon Geraghty defended the move by saying: "The reason why orders apply to a specific area is because they have to be supported by evidence before we go to police."

James Holder, who runs the Eagle Vaults pub in Friar Street, said: "A ban in the whole city wouldn't really affect us, as long as customers can drink outside in the summer - we need to promote a continental culture."

A booze ban now covers the city centre, St Clement's Church, Henwick Road, Tallow Hill Industrial Estate, the shopping precinct in Lichfield Avenue, Ronkswood, St John's Church in Bromyard Road, St John's, and the Central Mosque.

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