PubWatch banning orders issued in the Amber Valley will now apply to all participating bars in the towns of Alfreton, Belper, Heanor and Ripley.

A change to the scheme came into force on Thursday, June 1, extending it across the whole Amber Valley area.

Before then, if a banning order was issued to somebody in Alfreton, they were only banned from visiting pubs in that town but could drink elsewhere.

The new order covers all Pubwatch bars and pubs in Alfreton, Belper, Heanor and Ripley.

PC Ady Clarke, part of the Derbyshire Police Licensing Team, said: “It is a big step, but all the PubWatch members want to keep their staff and customers safe.

“What we were finding was individuals were getting banned from one area and then going into another area, drinking, and causing issues there.

“What we’re going to do is share the information among the groups so if you do get a ban, you will be banned from all the areas in the Amber Valley.

“It’s going to make the places safer for the staff as we’ve had staff being assaulted and customers being assaulted, and it tends to be the same individuals causing the issues in the different areas, so this Amber Valley-wide ban is definitely going to be beneficial to the area and making it safer for people to be drinking in.”

You can read more about the extension here.

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