BOURNEMOUTH'S lively nightlife is big business, bringing in millions of pounds to the local economy. But with drunken, rowdy and violent behaviour drawing unwelcome comparisons with Faliraki, some are now asking whether the town has the balance right.

The spotlight is about to fall on Bournemouth in two television documentaries. One programme, filmed by BBC South and due to be screened on October 14, shows the town as the "hen night capital" of the south.

The other, from cable and satellite company UK Horizon, focuses on a company offering holiday tours especially for the 18-30 age group to the Bournemouth area.

The programmes coincide with a series of six meetings being held by Bournemouth Council as part of a review of its policies relating to the night time economy.

At last Friday's policy advisory group meeting, Chief Superintendent Bob Boulton, Bournemouth divisional commander for Dorset Police, called for the balance to be restored to stamp on the "mindless idiots" who spoil the enjoyment of the majority.

"Bars and night clubs play an important role in the local economy, with the majority of visitors behaving responsibly and having a good time," he later explained.

"However, we are keen to make sure Bournemouth does not become associated with the problems apparent in some popular foreign holiday destinations.

"We have a policy of high-profile policing around the town centre, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. This increased presence of officers is not only reassuring to the public, but also means we are able to respond to any incidents in the quickest time possible."

Roger Ferre from Dorset Ambulance Service told the meeting that emergency calls to the service were up across the country, but the increase in central Bournemouth was 10 times greater than the average.

"If things carry on as they are, we're going to need about four more vehicles in this locality," he said.

Mr Ferre asked the council to think about measures to spread the peaks and troughs of activity by phasing closing times of licensed premises. "Eighty per cent of our activity at night time is fuelled by alcohol," he said.

"The fireworks are brilliant because they bring families into town. I believe that if you have a predominately family-orientated population walking around town, it has a limiting effect on the few people that want to behave badly."

Town centre manager Kevin Moore said the night time economy should be made more inclusive, with measures to encourage people to stay in town after work.

He also called for less emphasis on what he called "vertical drinking", and more places where people could meet, sit down for a drink, have something to eat and chat.

"The more alive the town is in early to late evening, the more people will want to stay there," he said.

Bournemouth Youth Parliament Member Chris Ware suggested a ban on special offers on alcoholic drinks.

He also pleaded for a greater range of activities for young people and more events organised with local people in mind.

"People are able to buy fake IDs on the internet. The reason young people are trying to get into bars is perhaps because there isn't enough for them to do," he said.

Bournemouth Youth Council chairman Natalie McCutcheon said: "There's a lack of effective ID checking in most of the clubs which makes underage drinking very easy."

She also claimed that some club owners were failing to tackle drug dealing on their premises and called for more premises to use metal detectors to stop people taking firearms and knives into clubs.