LAST orders have finally been called for the 11pm closure of pubs in busy tourist destinations such as York.

Labour promised to introduce 24-hour drinking in town centre bars and restaurants during last year's General Election campaign.

But the Government then upset drinkers and tourism bosses by failing to include a relaxation of licensing laws in last November's Queen's Speech.

Selby MP John Grogan led the campaign for the move to be included in the legislative programme for next year - telling Ministers it would a boost to cities such as York.

Now Prime Minister Tony Blair has broken with Parliamentary tradition to reveal it will be included in next week's Queen's Speech.

As a result, it is expected to be law by this time next year.

Mr Grogan told the Evening Press: "I am very pleased we are now going to see more sensible licensing laws which will allow pubs and restaurants to stay open until times much more in line with customer demands. It should allow them to stay open longer, as long as they meet requirements on noise and nuisance.

"For tourist cities like York, it will be particularly useful."

Meanwhile, half of men and a quarter of women in the North consume more alcohol than they should - yet most services to tackle drink problems are in the South, a report warned today.

The State of the Nation report produced by the charity Alcohol Concern also showed that in some parts of the country more than a quarter of 11 to 15- year-olds drink alcohol at least once a week.

Official advice is that men should not drink more than three to four units a day, and women no more than two to three daily.

The report also showed that young people in the North are following in their parents' footsteps.

In the North East, 26% of 11 to 15-year-olds drank alcohol at least once a week, in Yorkshire the figure was 21%, followed by 20% in the North West.

Updated: 11:58 Tuesday, November 05, 2002