STAND is continuing to hit people where it hurts most - in their social lives.

The Stopping Trouble And Night-time Disorder (Stand) initiative this week marked three years of excluding troublemakers from local pubs.

Established in April 2003 to coincide with the long Easter break, the scheme was born under the name Skipton Town Against Night-time Disorder and 11 people were immediately put on its bad books.

The campaign now covers 102 pubs and restaurants from Cowling to Ingleton and has 80 people barred from enjoying a drink in their local.

Those falling foul of Stand face a ban ranging from three months to life, depending on the seriousness of the offence.

People can be put on Stand without being arrested and those trying to flouting their punishment could have another 12 months added to their ban.

Last year the group introduced two new hard hitting measures - a name and shame list for pub walls and insisting those on Stand have their pictures taken so licensees can identify them.

Organisers behind the scheme have also worked hard to get across Stand's message of safe drinking with visual aids such as posters and beer mats.

Chairman of the initiative John Garton said: "Stand has evolved from being quite high impact to now promoting better and safer drinking."

Mr Garton said bans, which are determined by a consortium of licensees at regular meetings, were not handed out lightly and were the result of someone stepping well and truly over the line, be it drugs, criminal damage or violence.

And he added that those put on bans were entitled to appeal.

He explained: "Some people may have been given bans that they now feel they have served, if they were given a long one. It's possible they might now have a wife and kids and have settled down. By all means write to the police and explain."

The chairman said he believed the initiative was a deterrent to anyone thinking about misbehaving on a night out and in terms of violent crime this certainly seems to be true - according to police figures the area has seen a 13.2 per cent drop in such offences.

Mr Garton added he personally knew of people who had modified their behaviour after coming off a ban because they knew only too well the effects on their social lives.

In the future Stand may be rolled out to involve takeaway restaurants, which can also be a hotspot for nocturnal disorder.

The chairman said he was happy with the way Stand had developed over the past three years.

He explained: "Stand works because the licensees know all their customers."

But Mr Garton admitted the scheme was not popular with all pub landlords.

"To some licensees an incident that might happen in another premises may involve somebody who spends a great deal of money in their pub throughout the week. The dilemma is do you stand by fellow businessmen or take the decision to have someone spend £50 in your pub?" he explained.