JUST days after a judge blasted Bournemouth's binge drinking culture the Council of Her Majesty's Circuit Judges has warned that alcohol-fuelled violence will soar when round-the-clock drinking is legalised this autumn.

Sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court, South West Circuit Judge Roger Jarvis said binge drinking caused "real anxiety and distress to ordinary members of the public."

After jailing two young men for their parts in vicious town centre attacks, he added: "We see far too much of this sort of behaviour in this town."

He warned that others responsible for binge drinking violence would also face the wrath of the courts.

Judge Jarvis's hard-hitting comments came before a paper from the Council of Her Majesty's Circuit Judges said: "Those who routinely see the consequences of drink-fuelled violence on a daily basis are in no doubt that an escalation of offences will inevitably be caused by the relaxation of liquor licensing."

Council member Judge Charles Harris QC said the situation was grave and making drinking facilities more widely available was "close to lunacy".

During recent years Bournemouth's binge drinking culture has created many headlines in the Daily Echo and national newspapers.

Last month we revealed how a growing number of teenage girls - some as young as 13 - are implicated in drunken and violent behaviour.

Outraged holidaymaker Audrey Harper has vowed she will never return to Bournemouth after recently witnessing "the drink culture" at first-hand.

She said: "Clubs and bars seem to have taken over every other building. The pleasure of an evening out, strolling through the gardens or a quiet drink were out of the question, as by nine in the evening youngsters were staggering in front of cars along Old Christchurch Road where we were staying."

But Bournemouth police chief Inspector Neil MacBean doesn't share the judges' views.

"I think there will be positive spin-offs from increased licensing hours. Staggered closing times will mean there will no longer be the trouble flash-points between 2am and 3am when most drink-related offences occur."

First published: August 11, 2005