I have never seen the attraction of having a good time that you can’t remember the next day, still less a good time that leaves you with a splitting headache, a queasy stomach and the sense that you have never felt worse.

I must be in the minority, judging by the hordes of people thronging York city centre every evening in search of a “good time” by having as much to drink as possible.

Tonight, the city centre will be crowded because there is another World Cup match.

Tomorrow it will be even busier from midday onwards, because England is playing in the afternoon.

Next weekend will be the double whammy of the World Cup Final and Race Night.

If England win tomorrow, I would advise every sensible person to leave York on Friday next and not return until the following Monday morning.

All weekend those in the city centre or within a quarter mile of the racecourse will have to cope with every possible kind of anti-social, boorish, loutish behaviour caused by the nightmare combination of England in the World Cup Final/third-place playoff and Race Night.

I dread to think what state the streets will be for the morning after the night before that Sunday and Monday.

Don’t even think about attending Matins at York Minster – try Beverley or Ripon Minsters instead.

There will be shattered glass from broken bottles and windows, piles of vomit, discarded greasy chips and takeaways, doorways and pavement fittings stinking of urine and all the other consequences of too much alcohol that we have had to endure for far too long.

Why should people who behave themselves and moderate their alcohol intake have to cope with the mess created by the irresponsible many who selfishly inflict their “pleasure” so unpleasantly on the rest of us?

Perhaps we could make them clear up their own mess.

How about introducing the following system?

If someone is throwing up or urinating in the street, or thinks it funny to smash windows or car wing mirrors or anything else that catches their eye, then they should be rounded up and put somewhere to sober up.

It wouldn't have to be comfortable, all they would need is a safe place to lie down and sleep off the alcohol, with someone checking up every now and again to make sure they were ok.

The police would be delighted to have their cells freed up for criminals, rather than clogged up with drunks.

Once they are sober, take the louts back out on the streets with buckets, brushes, disinfectant etc and make them clear up the vomit, discarded takeaways and other litter, and sweep up every last speck of shattered bottle or window.

Put them to work washing and disinfecting the doorways, lampposts and alleyways wherever there is the stink of urine or a blood stain.

I'm not suggesting they should only clear up their own mess.

Given the state some get into, that would mean the rest of us having to endure walking past the remains of their “good time” all day while they sober up.

But if they were put to work on clearing up the general mess, we could have squads of sobered up last night drinkers clearing up the messes created by this night’s drinkers more or less as they are created.

Our streets would be unrecognisably clean.

Either way, the louts would be clear headed when they faced the consequences of drinking too much alcohol and would be able to fully understand the totally anti-social nature of their “good time” and just how unpleasant it is cleaning up after binge drinkers.

Maybe they would miss a day’s work while they sober up and do their cleaning shift.

But if they are that drunk, then any responsible employer wouldn’t want them at work anyway and the embarrassing need to explain themselves when they do get into work would be a powerful deterrent to future binge drinking.

The whole experience could be so unpleasant they would remember it next time they are out drinking and keep themselves under control.

Then they really would have a “good time” and so would the rest of us.