Plymouth police to ban glass in bid to tackle late night violence

Plymouth city centre police have vowed to ban glass bottles in troublesome night spots following a spate of late night 'glassings'.

Chief Inspector Ian Drummond-Smith, who is responsible for policing in the city centre, explained: “In the past year there have been 29 separate ‘glassings’ in the city centre at 20 different venues. As such, I have met with many of the local licensees and we are working together to reduce violence.

“Any premises that experiences more than one incident in a year may well face a ban on glass in their venue. There are plenty of alternatives available, including safety glass, plastic or aluminium. In accordance with this policy, we have recently commenced legal proceedings against a Plymouth bar in an attempt to ban glass at their premises."

Police have not named the bar in question at this stage.

Chief Inspector Drummond continued: “We are following in the footsteps of many other towns such as Cardiff and Newquay”.

A similar ban in Newquay, Cornwall, saw a drop in serious violence by 80%.