DON'T arrest anyone unless you absolutely must. That's what police officers were allegedly told before being sent out to keep order on one of the busiest nights of the year.

Every police cell in the county was full on the Friday before Christmas. So officers were told to issue fixed penalty notices, according to the police federation.

Assistant chief constable Peter Bagshaw insisted officers had simply been "reminded of the cells situation" and told arrest was a last resort.

But sending officers out on patrol while discouraging them from arresting offenders puts them in an impossible position.

It must not happen again.