Doormen may have to be employed at a number of pubs in Cornwall to deal with anti-social smokers, it has emerged.
According to the Morning Advertiser, police have warned that door staff may be required to counter the reported increase in fighting in the streets and people walking from pub to pub carrying their drinks.
The newspaper also states that the anti-social behaviour allegedly taking place in the early hours of the morning since the introduction of the ban could result in some premises having their licences revoked.
Chief inspector John Turner told the Cornish Guardian that the problems began with pub-goers wandering from pub to pub carrying drinks and that this posed a serious threat.
"This raises the potential for violence and accidents as people stumble through the streets, as well as the potential for underage drinking."
He went on to say that the matter would need to be dealt with quickly and that the responsibility lay with the pubs to control their customers.
A report in the Sunday Mirror last month claimed that pub takings had dropped by 40 per cent since the smoking ban.
