24-hour drinking: The morning after

It was billed as Armageddon. Binge drinking would get even worse. Town centres would become vomit-splattered no-go areas. But in Bournemouth, from Friday night until yesterday, on the first weekend of 24-hour licensing, it was as if nothing had changed. A few arrests, several drink-related visits to A&E - and the vast majority of drinkers safely tucked up in bed by early Saturday morning.

If anything, it was quieter than usual. Dorset has established itself as the 24-hour licensing capital of Britain. The four local authorities with the most successful applications for 24-hour licences are in Dorset, with Bournemouth home to 51. Most of these applicants are off-licences, hotels and supermarkets. Six bars and clubs took up the option, but only one, DNA, stayed open substantially later than normal, closing at 5am rather than 2am.

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Elsewhere, pubs and bars had chosen to open for an extra hour or two. DNA's owner, Sonny Rajput, welcomed the legislation. "We are already seeing the effects tonight. People are more relaxed - they are not rushing."

Despite the cold, by 10pm the streets were beginning to fill with women on hen nights, students and clubbers. The streets were patrolled by Bournemouth's Alcohol Licensing Enforcement team, wearing high-visibility yellow jackets. The officers confiscated alcohol from street drinkers, checked up on reports of under-age drinking and intervened in a handful of drunken scuffles.

By the end of the eight-hour shift the station cells were full, but only half a dozen arrests were drink-related. Sergeant Chris Weeks said: "Friday night has been quieter than I expected. It could be because it is cold or because of the new licensing laws. Maybe people feel they can go out later and stay in one venue rather than the usual 11 o'clock shuffle when the pubs close."

Chief constables around the country reported similarly quiet nights. In Newcastle, Nottingham and Liverpool, police said little had changed, contradicting predictions that the first weekend of 24-hour licensing would bring a wave of debauchery and alcohol-fuelled violence.

Bournemouth's bar owners were confident that the new legislation would have a positive impact. Steve Hudson, chairman of TownWatch, the local club owners' forum, said: "The country has been whipped into a frenzy that all hell is going to break out, that Armageddon is going to start, and that the streets will be full of drunk people wandering like zombies. People won't be drinking more - they'll be drinking the same amount over a longer period of time."

Most drinkers seemed to have no appetite - or stamina - for staying out all night. At 2am a group of students stood outside DNA trying to decide whether to go in. Tom, 21, said he wanted to "drink all night", but his friends wanted to go home. "I've got hardly any money left," said his friend Anthony.

In the queue for the kebab shop near Horseshoe Common, a strip of bars, takeaways and a taxi rank that is a regular trouble-spot, most people were ready to call it a night. "I'm tired, I'm cold and I'm 39 - I want to go home," said one man.

At Royal Bournemouth Hospital accident and emergency department, it was no different from any other Friday night. Senior Sister Chris Spencer said: "I don't think it will make much of an impact." Her colleagues have enough of a problem coping with the drunks they get in already. Abuse and threats of violence are a common occurrence and are no longer confined to weekends. "My staff have to cope with it every single night. Many nurses now do not want to work on A&E because they are scared."

Several admissions on Friday night were drink-related, including a man in his twenties who had broken his hand after "hitting a tree" and a young woman who was being treated for drinking too much.

Bournemouth's taxi drivers also had a normal night. "Nothing will change," said one. "I'm not changing my hours - none of us are. It's bloody ridiculous. Who wants to be out drinking at four or five in the morning?"

By 2am all the major clubs said they were less busy than usual. The biggest, Element, which holds 2,300 people, was less than half full. By 3am it was raining and people were drifting home. Kebab shops were doing more business than the clubs.

Some experts viewed the relatively peaceful revolution in drinking laws as a glass half empty, rather than half full, saying the cold weather meant there were fewer people out than normal. One police source said: "Nobody wants to fight in cold puddles, and people tend to behave themselves better when it is icy."

Tobias Ellwood, the Tory MP for Bournemouth East, also counselled against overly optimistic predictions that Britain would be able to deal with 24-hour drinking, saying the seaside town was under the spotlight because it had become the focal point of the Government's experiment.

"There was so much media in Bournemouth - it was like they were waiting for something to happen," he said. "A combination of the weather and the extra policing meant many members of the media were disappointed at the levels of public disorder they found.

"The coldest night of the year is not the best time to judge the introduction of 24-hour licensing and the new Mediterranean culture being introduced."

Additional reporting by Martin Hodgson

POLICE VIEW

The 'IoS' surveyed police forces around the country yesterday, some of which had predicted a wave of alcohol-fuelled violence. This is what they said:

MERSEYSIDE "I don't think it's been any busier than any other Friday night. There were no serious violent incidents related to drink. It makes you wonder if perhaps the Government was right."

NORTHUMBRIA, which includes Newcastle. "It was a generally quiet night with no drink-related incidents of note. There were a total of 20 arrests across the force for drink- and disorder-related offences."

GREATER MANCHESTER "Colleagues have told me that Manchester city centre was quieter than usual for a Friday night."

WEST MIDLANDS "Colleagues in Birmingham Broad Street said it was no different from what you would expect on a Friday night."

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE "Colleagues said it was a normal Friday night with no major incidents."

SUSSEX, including Brighton. "There were no particular changes in the pattern or number of incidents."

KENT "It's been a very quiet evening. People tend to behave themselves when it is icy."

Tom Anderson