A BAN on drinking alcohol in Skipton town centre will be in place by Christmas.

The crackdown on public drinking was given the green light by Craven district councillors this week.

The council has liaised with Sgt Kevin Wilson to draw up the areas which will be covered by the legislation.

It will encompass the High Street, Swadford Street and part of Cavendish Street, Keighley Road, including the bus station, Holy Trinity churchyard, Mill Bridge, a patch near the canal off Water Street and the Victoria Street/Albert Terrace area linking the High Street and Coach Street.

Under the new legislation the police will have the power to ask a person to stop drinking. If they refuse they could be arrested.

Sgt Wilson said the order would cut down on anti-social behaviour.

"We are not wanting to put a dampener on people's fun. It's not a case of us going down the High Street and saying we are going to arrest people, but the order does give us the power to ask people to return the drinks glasses and bottles or get rid of them," he said.

"We are looking at a preventative power so we can use it to reduce violence within the town.

"Thankfully recently there has not been a serious bottling or glassing, but we are coming up to the party season."

Coun Mick Hill said he supported the move, but added: "At the moment the problems are mainly in the town centre. Are we going to push it out into where people live?

"It's not your normal drinkers going out for a pint, it's your underage drinkers and those banned from the pubs."

The ban has also pleased Skipton Chamber of Trade and Commerce. President Tony Barrett said: "Anything that eliminates such unsavoury activities can only be good for the town and trade of Skipton."

Chamber member David Goldie, whose menswear shop is on the High Street, added: "We actually witnessed an incident concerning daytime drinking in the churchyard where a beer can was thrown and hit a passer-by, which we reported to the police.

"We have also had glasses and bottles left on our doorstep, apparently discarded as people walk between pubs."

Canon Adrian Botwright, rector of Holy Trinity Church, also welcomed the news: "At Holy Trinity we want our churchyard to be an open green space for everybody and an amenity for the whole town. Sadly the recent anti-social behaviour of some has frightened, overwhelmed and abused many ordinary people and stopped them from enjoying the churchyard.

"We very much hope that this new initiative will open the churchyard up once again for everybody."

It was suggested the ban should cover the whole of the town centre, but Denise Thompson, head of Craven District Council's legal and democratic services, said it could only be introduced in areas where police had proved there was a problem with nuisance behaviour caused by drinking. Similarly, if a ban is put on an area and then there are no problems, the order will be removed.

Miss Thompson added that the police would monitor the situation to see whether other areas could be included in the future.

Twenty-eight days' notice must be given before the ban is implemented. "The order would come into effect just before Christmas which the police welcome," added Miss Thompson

Signs will be erected to let people know they have entered a no alcohol zone.