A tough crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Southend nightspots today won the backing of pub and club bosses.

A host of town centre venues have signed up to the new Pub and Club Watch scheme to ensure the safest possible environment for revellers.

Under the initiative, troublemakers can be barred from all pubs and clubs if they breach rules set under the scheme.

These are:

Assaulting a member of staff or customer

Damaging the premises

Selling or using drugs

Threatening violence on one or more occasion.

Clubs will also be able to communicate via a hi-tech radio system, thanks to the scheme.

Rod Chapman, deputy manager of the Chameleon nightclub said: "It think this is an excellent concept for Southend. Just being able to communicate with other venues by the touch of a button is a God-send, but also being able to exclude troublemakers before they have a chance to cause trouble is a great relief for anyone in the leisure trade."

Andy Rimmer, manager of Yates's wine lodge, added: "This is definitely the way forward in making Southend a safer place for people to have a good time and the policy of barred from one, barred from all, will act as an extra deterrent to would-be troublemakers."

Brinsley Manzi, manager of Tots 2000, said he was delighted to back the project.

He added: "We think this is an excellent initiative. Liaison between licensed premises in the town will create a safer environment.

"One good example is that troublemakers will not be able to leave one premises and then go straight to another."

Mark Eleveld, manager of the Town House in Queens Road, said: "We belong to this scheme because it helps us to achieve a safe, friendly environment that my staff enjoy working in and which helps to make the customer return again and again."

The initiative forms part of a partnership between the clubs, council licensing officers and the police.

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