By Sara Oliver

DRINKING on the streets in Trowbridge could be outlawed in a bid to wipe out late-night crime in the town centre.

The stringent action would ban drinking alcohol in the open air anywhere in the town.

The move has provoked mixed reactions, with claims that it could cause more trouble than it solves.

Trowbridge police chief Inspector Fraser Howorth said any plan to adopt a drinking ban bylaw needed careful investigation.

He said: "We don't want a knee-jerk reaction that banning alcohol on the street would be the panacea to all our ills.

"We could find ourselves in the situation of the town council, or any other body, wanting to host an event in the park and finding themselves not able to have alcohol there. It would not be ethical for us to say we would ignore the ban because it's the right type of people drinking."

He said the idea needed to be fully investigated to see if it would be viable for Trowbridge.

He said: "Some of my colleagues think it is a very good idea, and have taken it forward with their local councils.

"We would need to speak to the places where they have bans and see how it works.

"I do have some reservations but if there is the support for it from the majority then it would be a way forward."

A ban was introduced in Warminster earlier this year after the town was plagued with late-night trouble caused by drunks leaving the town's pubs.

Devizes has had a ban for some time, but a similar bylaw in Bath had to be scrapped after it led to cafes and restaurants not being able to allow customers to sit outside their premises with a drink in the summer.

The Trowbridge ban is being opposed by town and district councillor Jeff Osborn, who last month likened Trowbridge at night to the Mediterranean party island of Ibiza, known for its extreme behaviour from drunken clubbers.

He said: "I would argue against it, I think it is a red herring.

"It would be very difficult to enforce and could cause us more problems in the long run."

Town development manager Daryl Saville Brown said the proposed ban was now being investigated by the town council.

She said: "It is something we are looking at."