75934-04NOT one Swindon pub intends to stay open 24-hours a day under relaxed licensing laws, we can reveal.

Licensees in the town said that the new legislation would have little effect on their opening times.

We called every Swindon pub listed in the phone book and most are planning to stay open an extra hour or two at weekends and special occasions.

Our findings back up a national survey of 30,500 pubs and bars. All said they planned to ignore the new legislation.

From Monday every pub and club in the town will have six months to apply for a new drinks licence with their local authority, requesting the hours they would like to open.

In a survey by the British Beer and Pub Association, almost two thirds of police officers said they feared the move to all-hours drinking would cause a surge in alcohol-fuelled violence.

But speaking to the Advertiser, Licensing Minister Richard Caborn said there was no appetite among pub owners to remain open around-the-clock.

Instead, he insisted his reforms would crack down on binge-drinkers and rogue pubs.

He said: "I think people will look back in a few years and say what was all the fuss about?

"A survey of some 30,500 venues showed no pub or bar would open for 24 hours. Not one of them.

"The only one we know about is an Australian sports bar in London which wants to show rugby through the night.

"Even if someone wants to apply for a 24 hour license you only get it if you show good reason."

He blames the surge in recent years of booze-related violence has been caused by the strict 11pm closing times.

"We believe that binge drinking is a product, to some extent, of the licensing laws as they are today and therefore we believe the status quo is not an option," he added.

The reforms will see six current licences allowing the sale of alcohol, late night drinking, late night cafes and the holding of public entertainment, theatre or cinema being streamlined into one overall licence which does not need to be re-applied for each year.

The Government wants local authorities to have issued the new licences to every pub and club by November a deadline which has led to criticism from some council leaders who fear they will be swamped by time-consuming applications.

Under the Licensing Act, landlords will be stripped of their licences if they are caught serving alcohol to anyone who is drunk.

Kevin Shoesmith