Worksop: Venues in town begin breathalysing drinkers before entry

Venues across Worksop have begun breathalysing drinkers before entry, a scheme that Notts Police say has been a success.
Drinkers will be breathalysed at venues like The Cornerhouse in WorksopDrinkers will be breathalysed at venues like The Cornerhouse in Worksop
Drinkers will be breathalysed at venues like The Cornerhouse in Worksop

Officers have been working in partnership with late night venues, supplying them with the equipment to breath-test revellers before allowing them entry as part of a project to keep the town safe.

Use of the breathalyser is an option to help avoid any arguments over whether or not patrons are drunk- instead of an argument escalating, door staff can use the test to show how inebriated a person is.

Insp Neil Bellamy, of Notts Police, said: “We want to assure the community that by breathalysing apparently drunk people, we are not trying to take away the fun from anyone’s night.”

“This is about encouraging responsible drinking and working in partnership with local venues to ensure everyone has a great time while staying safe.”

“Only those who show signs of being drunk will be breathalysed before entering venues, and even then the limit is set at a level that we think is reasonable.”

Insp Bellamy added that in most instances, Worksop patrons were willing to co-operate with door staff and be breath-tested.

He said: “We’ve actually had a great response from the Worksop community, with people happy to be tested. It also empowers door staff and gives them the opportunity to refuse entry to people who may cause trouble in their venues.”

“What people don’t realise is we could also be saving someone’s life by breathalysing them. In Mansfield, where we have also been carrying out these checks, someone returned a result of 200 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres blood and could have got alcohol poisnoning had they drank more,” he added.

The police will be working with Bassetlaw Council over the Christmas period to ensure safety in the night time economy under projects such as ‘The Pub Watch’ and ‘Too Drunk to Party’ to schemes.

Daveen Brown, licensing enforcement officer at Notts Police said: “We will do whatever we can to assist people in having a great night and getting home safely.”

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