A SCHEME aimed at tackling drugs and violence in Darlington's town centre pubs and clubs is being expanded across the whole borough.

Darlington Pub Watch was launched four years ago, originally taking in the larger on- licensed premises, before being extended to take in smaller premises.

Now the scheme, which is a partnership between police, Darlington Borough Council, the town's closed-circuit television scheme and licensees, will be extended across the borough.

Licensees are being invited to a meeting early next month to find out more about the scheme, before they are invited to join the present 28 Pub Watch members.

As well as reacting to incidents in its members' premises, by dealing with the initial problems, the Pub Watch committee also has the power to impose bans on offenders entering any of licensed premises in the scheme.

This acts as a more pro-active method of preventing further offending.

Sergeant Ian Martin, Darlington police's Pub Watch liaison officer, said: "The main areas that we look at are in relation to the prevention of drugs and violence on the premises.

"We go about doing that by ensuring that incidents are reported to the Pub Watch committee, who look at the possibility of barring people from the premises."

Anyone barred by the committee will be barred from all member premises, which will become an even bigger deterrent if more pubs and clubs join the scheme.

Sgt Martin said: "Pub Watch has been very successful. It has been going from strength-to-strength over the past four years."

He said the scheme also operated a crime information ring, through which members are informed of incidents via the telephone. Some premises are linked to each other, as well as to police and closed-circuit television operators, with radios.

Such information as people using fake coins in gaming machines or passing forged notes can also be passed on to non-member pubs.

The recruitment event will take place at Bar Rio, next door to the Mardi Gras nightclub, in Gladstone Street, on Tuesday, August 6, from 7pm.