York council calls meeting to tackle drunkenness on city's streets

Anti-social behaviour had become a "major issue" in York, the letter said.

Rowdy stag and hen parties have turned the centre of York into a "no-go area" for residents and tourists, council officials have warned.

They have written to pubs, nightclubs and off-licences in the city inviting licensees to a meeting on Tuesday in a bid to reduce drunken behaviour.

In the letter, City of York Council said anti-social behaviour had become "a major issue" for the police.

"The city is becoming a 'no-go area'... on a Saturday," it said.

The letter mentions the popularity of York with stag and hen parties from other parts of the country, particularly the North East and South Yorkshire.

Kay Hyde, from tourist authority Make it York, said problem drinking was becoming "a serious concern".

"It's an issue, I think, which has been developing for some time and it's something the city as a whole has to get to grips with," she said.

She added that a combination of education and penalties was needed to deter anti-social behaviour.

'Residents' concerns'

"It's a mix of using a carrot and a stick to deter people so they know when they are misbehaving there will be consequences."

Steve Waddington from City of York Council said that alcohol-related crime in the city's Alcohol Restriction Zone had fallen by 21% and that the aim of Tuesday's meeting was "to listen to and act on businesses' and residents' concerns about a minority of city centre users".

Martin Caffrey, operations director at the York-based Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, said action was needed to stop revellers "loading up on alcohol" bought on trains and in supermarkets.

"They drink bottles bought from supermarkets and half an hour later the landlord gets the problem.

"Control does work," he said.

"It's a commitment to that control that's needed."