A BAN on drinking alcohol in public places in Okehampton could be on the cards.
It follows concern that drinking in the street is making the town unsafe to walk around at night.
The issue was raised at last week?s meeting of Okehampton Town Council by Cllr Dave Weekes. He said drinking on benches in the town?s streets and in Simmons Park was leading to an increasing problem of anti-social behaviour.
Cllr Weekes said: ?People get drunk and throw cans around. It is dangerous and should not be allowed.
?There is a problem, mainly with youths walking around the town with bottles and cans making people feel it is unsafe to walk around the town at night.?
Cllr Weekes said parents had told him they were worried about their young children walking on broken glass or drinking from half-finished bottles left lying around the town.
?It has got to the stage where something has to be done to nip it in the bud,? he said.
Cllr Tony Leech, chairman of the policy and resources committee, said he agreed with Cllr Weekes that something needed to be done to tackle the problem.
But Cllr Pat Snell warned that any by-law would have to be carefully worded to take account of special occasions, such as carnival night or Edwardian Evening when responsible drinking in public places would be acceptable.
The council resolved to write to the police to find out what they thought of the idea of banning the consumption of alcohol in public places in the town and whether such a move could be policed.
West Devon Borough Council has the power to introduce designated non-drinking areas in public places, in consultation with police and local residents.
Nick Payne, borough environmental services officer, said until he had looked carefully at the views of the town council and police on the matter, it was hard to assess whether a ban on the consumption of alcohol in public places would be appropriate in Okehampton.
Mr Payne said two key points had to be examined before the process of administering any ban could move forward.
?There does have to be evidence that there is a genuine problem in relation to consumption of alcohol in public in the area to justify a ban, and police have to feel they have the ability to provide effective enforcement to make the ban work,? he said.
Mr Payne said it was also necessary to have significant support for such a measure among local people.
He said the borough council was currently considering the possibility of a ban on drinking in public in the centre of Bere Alston to curb anti-social behaviour.
?We will use Bere Alston as a pilot to see whether there might be value in introducing other bans in West Devon,? he said.