TWO village bars have been ordered to step up security following violence at the weekend.

Magistrates have ordered bosses at the Rood Bar, Barrowford, to axe their current security firm, Burnley-based Link Security, and employ a new one from outside the area.

They also told the George and Dragon, in the same village, which currently has no door staff, that they must have at least one bouncer on duty on Friday and Saturday nights.

The orders were made at a special licensing hearing at Burnley magistrates yesterday afternoon and will run until next month when they will be reviewed.

Rood Bar and the George and Dragon were closed under emergency powers and searched for drugs after the incidents on Friday and Saturday. No drugs were found at either premises.

The landlord of the George and Dragon, in Gisburn Road, Paul Jennings, and father and son Malcolm and Charlie Weaving, who run the Rood Bar, in nearby Church Street, said today they were happy to comply with the orders.

Charlie Weaving said: "We are an innocent party in all of this and we have been unlucky to have been randomly targeted as the warfield for a set of individuals.

"We are a respectable part of the community and are devastated by these developments.

"We are fully co-operating with the police and taking their advice."

Paul Jennings said: "I just want a peaceful life after what has happened. We will certainly adhere with the court orders and get door staff in for weekends."

Police were called to the George and Dragon about 11pm on Friday after reports that a man had been attacked as he got into a taxi outside the pub by three men, one wielding a claw hammer.

He was then taken into a back alley and assaulted before he managed to escape.

The following night, police were again called to the pub after reports that six men carrying hammers entered the pub. Several people were injured in the incident.

A police spokesman said further inquiries revealed a history of trouble between two factions involving both the George and Dragon and Rood Bar and both were searched for drugs and closed in a bid to prevent further violence.

Three men have appeared before Burnley magistrates after alleged violence at pubs in Barrowford.

Aftab Ahmed, 19, Shaffa Ahmed, 25, and Michael Hamilton, 33, are all charged with violent disorder after incidents were said to have taken place at the George and Dragon and Rood Bar, last Friday and Saturday.

All were given unconditional bail until April 7 to make a second appearance in front of the justices.

Shaffa Ahmed, of Manor Street, Nelson, and Hamilton, of Waidshouse Road, Nelson, must both live at their home addresses, not contact the alleged victims and not enter Barrowford.

Aftab Ahmed, of Park Avenue, Barrowford, was ordered to live and sleep at Every Street, Nelson. He is not allowed to go to Barrowford, except to visit his parents in Park Avenue.