EFFORTS to enforce a booze ban in Workington town centre have been praised.

Last month police took steps to highlight the drinking exclusion zone after a rise in complaints about public drinking and anti-social behaviour.

Officers increased patrols, carried out stop searches for other suspected offences and alcoholic drinks have been seized and poured away.

Richard Ashcroft, manager of the Washington Square Shopping Centre, said: “I think they’ve done a really good job. They’ve provided quite a lot of police presence and all my shops have been reporting they are very happy with how things are going.

“People who were in town drinking during the day have gone elsewhere, so it’s a job well done.

“It was getting ridiculous – people were telling me they didn’t want to come to town because they felt uncomfortable, something needed to be done. It’s one of those things that needs to be constantly monitored.”

The work has been carried out by the neighbourhood police team officers and the Allerdale Local Focus hub, which is a group of partner agencies based at Allerdale House, the borough council’s headquarters.

Mark Jenkinson, deputy leader of the council, said: “Now that the hub is based at Allerdale House it’s much easier for all the partner agencies to work together, it’s more flexible and issues get dealt with more quickly.

“It enables us to feedback issues that we have, such as what was happening in the town centre.

“The results that we’re seeing with arrests being made are encouraging. I’m not going to say the problem is fixed, but we are getting somewhere.

“It’s early days but I think the work we’re doing will reap rewards.”

Peter McCall, Cumbria police and crime commissioner, said: “I am pleased to see officers reacting quickly to address concerns from the public.

“We all want shop staff and residents to continue to see the town centre as a welcoming place.”

Neighbourhood Sergeant Lorraine Murphy said: “We’ve been encouraged by the fact the message seems to have got out and most people are respecting the exclusion zone. But those who persist in this type of anti-social behaviour will be spoken to and further action taken if necessary.

“The order allows officers to prevent people from consuming alcohol in a public place, confiscate alcohol from those people drinking in public and pursue prosecutions should people not comply with the request.”