CLUBBERS in west Wiltshire will soon be screened for illegal drugs before they are allowed to enter pubs and nightclubs.

Police are stepping up their fight against illicit drugs with a pioneering new piece of computer technology.

The £30,000 Ion Track Itemiser is being hailed as a "major breakthrough" which could help put a stop to date rape drugging as well as illicit drug taking in pubs and clubs.

Security staff at Club Ice, Westbury, will be taking part in the first training session with the new machine today.

With police assistance, door staff will then start screening people entering clubs and licensed premises in west Wiltshire.

Club Ice manager Barry White said: "I hope this machine will be a major breakthrough for us.

"The amount of money and time we invest to stop drugs coming into the club is immense.

"If this machine makes our job easier then I'll be a very happy man."

Mr White said although staff could search people for drugs, they could not body-search customers or do anything about them taking drugs before they get to his premises.

He said: "We have only had one date rape drug incident in two years but that is one too many.

"The machine can detect whether a £20 note in someone's pocket has ever been used to take drugs so it will eliminate the areas we've been unable to detect before."

In Trowbridge members of the town's Pub and Club Watch scheme have run poster campaigns in recent months to warn clubbers of the dangers of date rape drugs.

Several women came forward saying their drinks had been spiked with a mystery drug and they had no memory of what happened for several hours of a night out.

Chairman of Pubwatch Bill Austin said: "I think this machine is an excellent idea considering the date rape drugging problem I think is escalating here.

"These sorts of deterrents work very well.

"I've seen people leaving the queues to get into nightclubs when they've seen sniffer dogs on the door the fear factor works.

"So far in Trowbridge no one has come forward saying they have been raped after being drugged but the whole idea of drugging someone just makes me sick.

"Any machine that could help us catch the people who do this is great news."

The testing machine is about the same size as a personal computer and can identify traces of class A-C drugs or explosives in around five seconds.

It can pinpoint whether people have date rape drugs such as sedatives, gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) or liquid ecstasy, in their possession before they enter the club.

The Ion Track is used by swiping any type of surface, including hands or clothes.

The analysis machine then gives the results of the sample on-screen and a print out of test results straight away.