ALCOHOL has many uses and effects in our society, some pleasant, some decidedly not so.

Tonight the Evening Press carries two shocking stories about the harm that can come through the wilful misuse of drink.

In one a thug who committed a catalogue of drink-fuelled crimes has been barred from every source of alcohol within the outer York ring road. This is thought to be one of the most stringent restrictions ever imposed on a problem drinker. In the other case, a drunken hooligan who smashed a glass into a motorist's face has been jailed for 18 months.

How sobering that on the very same day judges and police officers should warn that town and city centres could be turned into the equivalent of violent booze-fuelled holiday hotspots when the Government's liberalisation of licensing laws comes into effect in November.

Senior judges in England and Wales fear 24-hour drinking could see a big increase in rapes, domestic violence and serious assaults. Judges all too often see the end result of excessive drinking, so their concerns carry weight.

It is easy to worry that unrestricted drinking could see a tourist city such as York descend into the sort of alcohol-washed hooliganism that breaks out when young Brits descend on certain Mediterranean resorts.

The Government still believes longer hours will lead to a Continental-style maturity about alcohol. Perhaps this will happen, although the portents are not good.

It would be sensible to hold a review after a certain time to ascertain whether or not longer hours have led to a rise in drink-related trouble.

Updated: 11:44 Wednesday, August 10, 2005