COUNCILLORS have asked for more time to consider proposals to ban alcohol from the streets of Burnley town centre and the roads leading up to Turf Moor in a bid to crack down on violent assaults.

According to a council report, there is a "significant amount of alcohol related assaults within Burnley town centre and on numerous occasions the assaults involve the use of glasses and bottles as weapons."

It adds that if a no drinking zone is introduced, "the opportunities for violent offences involving weapons will be reduced."

The move was given the go-ahead at a meeting of the council's executive committee earlier this month but at a meeting of the full council, members asked for more information about the scheme before giving it their approval.

New legislation under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, which came into effect last October, means that local authorities now have the power to restrict the consumption of alcohol in designated public areas.

Burnley already operates the BAND (Burnley Against Night-time Disorder) scheme which has been running for 10 months, though the drinking ban would give police extra powers.

The move to ban drinking already has the full backing of Burnley's town centre policing unit,

It has indicated to the council that the number of violent crimes have increased significantly over the last twelve months.

Inspector Geoff Brown said: "One of the issues we are looking at is making the town centre a safer place and part of that process should involve making the town centre a no drinking zones.

"It is a move to prevent any assaults with glass of which we have had a few nasty ones over the past few months."

Insp Brown added that he wanted to make Burnley the safest town centre in Britain, a place where people felt safe.

Councillor Charles Bullas, executive member for public protection and community safety, said: "We have a growing and increasing problem within the town centre. We want to eliminate this and we feel that with the summer months coming up and the World Cup, we want to give the police our full support.

"And if we get the statistics to prove that it has been successful and that it is needed it will be extended to other parts of the town."

The report will go back before the full council.