PLANS for late night drinking are being backed by police, who hope they will change the drinking culture of town centre revellers.

Residents have protested about plans for a trial of extended hours at the Red Lion pub, in Chester-le-Street, and for a 1am licence for the new Chicago Rock cafe bar because they fear late night disturbances.

But police are supporting the later closing times and have indicated that they will not object to the proposals when they go before magistrates on August 9.

The Red Lion, at the north end of Front Street, wishes to extend its opening times to midnight.

Chief Inspector Laz Szomoru, based at Durham police station, said staggered opening times would tone down the volatile pub and club closing times, when drunken revellers often clash on the streets after leaving pubs at 11am and 2am.

He said: "I think it will be interesting having a 12pm licence for the bar area of the Red Lion just to see the impact it has on Front Street. Staggered closing times throughout the town will reduce noise."

Chief Insp Szomoru said he thought changes to traditional pub closing times were inevitable. "The traditional 11pm closing time for pubs, or 2am closing for nightclubs, is something that's not sustainable and I think there's certainly some large operators who are wanting to try and extend their licensing hours," he said.

"Provided it's not going to have a negative impact on the community and residents and cause extra problems for the police, it's something we should encourage."

Other people living near the town centre fear it will mean more disturbances late into the night.

One man, who did not wish to be named, said: "There's one old lady who lives near Front Street who has just had a breast operation and she can't get to sleep until 3am with normal opening hours.

"If both these pubs get their late-opening, we're going to have a nuisance at both ends of the town."

Luminar Leisure, the company behind the Chicago Rock development, has argued that its pub is aimed at more mature drinkers and that it is willing to meet residents to allay fears about noise.

Last night, nobody from the Red Lion was available for comment.