POLITICIANS have vowed to help cut crime figures next New Year's Eve after another year's celebrations ended in booze-fuelled trouble.

This year 24 people were arrested, with binge drinking largely to blame.

Seven were arrested for assault, seven for public order offences, four for drunken and disorderly behaviour and four for drink-driving.

There were also two arrests for miscellaneous crimes.

The number of arrests was the same as last year, when 14 people were arrested for assault, two for drunken and disorderly behaviour, two for criminal damage, three for public order offences and three for drink-driving.

Coun Brian Ford, cabinet member for community safety, said Swindon Council was hoping to get on top of the problem this month with a range of measures, such as preventing bars and clubs from offering cheap drinks and by relocating kebab vans to encourage dispersal from the town

centre.

Coun Ford said: "After the high profile of the last year regarding anti- social behaviour related to alcohol, I'm unhappy.

"But I hope that the measures we will be putting in place will stop the same thing happening next year.

"One thing we are looking at is cheap drinks offers.

"We have written to the bars to tell them that if they continue to offer and promote these dangerous offers we will look at revoking their entertainment licence.

"We are also looking at issues regarding the kebab vans and the siting of them. I don't think they are a major problem in so much as people need to eat and it soaks up alcohol. But we are looking at possibly putting them on the way out of town instead of focussing them in the centre of town.

"When people come out of the clubs they need to be funnelled towards their homes and positioning kebab vans on the edge of town is one way of achieving that.

"We are encouraging the owners of the vans to ensure they are properly staffed so that big queues do not build up."

Town centre manager Bernie Maguire supports the moves, which he believes will cut down on town centre rowdiness.

"When people have been out for a drink the first thing they want is a kebab, to go into a nightclub or to get a taxi.

"At the moment we have all three things in one area. But if we moved the kebab vans to another area it would encourage people to go there instead. It's all about crowd control."

Diana Milne