LICENSEES in and around Earby are joining forces to take a stand against those who misbehave in the area's pubs and clubs.

While the area doesn't have a particular problem with rowdiness or anti-social behaviour, there are always a few individuals who will spoil things for the rest.

Banning troublemakers from a particular pub or club might not have much effect, as the problem is just moved down the road to the next licensee.

Now, under a new Earby Pubwatch scheme, anyone banned from any pub or club in Earby or Kelbrook will automatically be banned from them all.

The new scheme was launched this week, bringing together licensees from pubs and clubs across the area.

They will meet regularly to run the scheme, working closely with the area's two Community Beat Officers, PCs Bryan Pepper and Helen Danson.

Pubs and clubs involved in the scheme include the Central Club, Conservative Club, Earby Cricket Club, the Punch Bowl, the Red Lion, Earby Sports and Social Club and the Station Hotel, all in Earby, plus the Craven Heifer and the Old Stone Trough, in Kelbrook.

Anyone barred from any of those premises for unruly or anti-social behaviour will automatically be barred from them all.

They can appeal to the next meeting of the Earby Pubwatch committee, putting their case against a ban, and it is up to committee members to decide the length of any ban.

A typical ban would be 12 months.

A similar scheme already operates in Barnoldswick under the name BAND - Barnoldswick Against Night-time Disorder.

It has had a considerable impact on trouble in the town and there will be links between the two schemes, with a strong suggestion that anyone barred under one will also be barred under the other, preventing troublemakers from moving to the next town.

PC Pepper said the scheme had worked well in Barnoldswick and other towns and he was confident it would work just as well in Earby.

"The licensees are all very positive about it and Earby is a very community-minded place where this sort of scheme can be very effective.

"As well as stopping the problem of shifting troublemakers from pub to pub, it is a very strong deterrent to anti-social behaviour. Nobody want to be banned from all the pubs and clubs in their town."

Chairman of the new Earby Pubwatch group is Bill Taylor, the landlord at the Red Lion, and vice-chairman is Nicola Turnbull, of Earby Sports and Social Club.

The scheme was officially launched at the Red Lion on Tuesday.