Drunks face up to five years in prison if they flout tough new booze bans designed to drive down-and-outs from the town centre.
Police and the courts in Colchester are cracking down on repeat offenders by banning them from their favourite outdoor drinking haunts.
They say the court orders are more effective in stamping out disorder in public places by street drinkers.
Yesterday, two men with a string of alcohol-related convictions were given Asbos - anti-social behaviour orders - by Colchester Magistrates' Court.
Neville Dickinson, 52, of Mersea Road, and Graham Adamson, 45, of no fixed address, were banned from:
Being drunk in public
Begging
Using aggressive or abusive language
Having alcohol in a public place.
Before Asbos were brought in, drunks faced relatively minor sentences.
Published Friday August 20, 2004
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