THERE has been a good deal of debate about how to tackle the problem of drunken anti-social behaviour in York City Centre.

Police are now considering a novel approach – a trial scheme where pubs and clubs breathalyse customers they believe have already had too much to drink.

Such a scheme has been used with some success in Scarborough and Northallerton, police say.

But how would it work?

“Door staff will use them at their discretion if they believe someone has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol,” a police spokesman said. “A person could be refused entry if their alcohol level is too high.”

The details of exactly how such a scheme would work are still sketchy.

What alcohol level would be considered ‘too high’, for example? And which pubs and clubs would be invited to take part in the trial?

But in principle it sounds like an interesting attempt to tackle a thorny problem. It may even discourage drinkers from ‘pre-loading’ on cheap supermarket booze - which would be welcomed by police and pub landlords alike.