A PLAN to introduce a boozing ban in the centre of Marlborough has fallen flat after town councillors refused to back the idea.

At a meeting of the town council on Monday, the proposal for banning the consumption of alcohol in public, originally introduced by Coun Ian Perryman, was turned down.

Police have said there is no alcohol problem in the town and Insp. Bill Dowling told the Gazette this week that an alcohol free zone was not necessary in Marlborough.

Coun Perryman, a staunch churchman, had claimed there was a problem in one part of the town, with youngsters getting drunk, breaking bottles and vomiting.

But when other councillors pressed him for details of the location, Coun Perryman declined to give them.

His proposal had been inspired by the introduction four years ago of an alcohol free zone in the centre of Devizes.

He said: "I have been told by others including Coun Cripps who attends the police consultative committee that our police inspectors say we do not have the same problem in Marlborough as in Devizes and do not need alcohol free zone controls."

But he added: "The police do not see this in the same way as other members of the public. I was not surprised today to be told by my wife that she saw two drunks in the High Street being moved on by police.

"I am not telling you that Marlborough is full of drunks who need to be locked up. I thought it would be a good idea to investigate and see if we could get any police backing."

He was confronted by Coun Joan Evans, who said: "You say there is an alcohol problem in this town, yet you are not prepared to say where.

"I have never been aware there was a problem with people drinking in the street.

"We see people sitting outside Caffe Uno and the Castle and Ball having a drink but that is no problem.

"If you create an alcohol free zone those businesses will no longer be able to do that.

"To talk about brining in an alcohol free zone in the centre of the town would be taking a mallet to crack a nut."

Coun Joyce White said an alcohol ban would have a serious effect on public events like the jazz festival and annual Victorian evening.

The provision of free wine at the jazz festival's opening ceremony would be one immediate casualty.

Jazz festival founder and organiser Nick Fogg, a former mayor, said that street events would suffer drastically if a ban on drinking in public were introduced and termed the proposal 'idiotic'.

Coun David Watson called on Coun Perryman to declare the area of the town where he proposed there was a problem with young people drinking.

Members of the finance and general purposes committee voted five-four to reject Coun Perryman's proposal.

Insp Dowling said: "I was responsible for bringing the alcohol free zone in in Devizes, but there is no need for it in Marlborough."

He said he had learned from Coun Perryman that the area he was concerned about was the Coopers Meadow amenity area.

But the inspector said he could not support the idea of an alcohol free zone. "It would create more problems than it would solve," he added.

Insp Dowling said he was not aware of any problem in Coopers Meadow and had received no complaints from the public.

nkerton@newswilts.co.uk