Police in Southend have hailed as a success an experiment on Christmas Eve where some pub landlords were encouraged to close their premises.

An Essex Police spokesman today claimed incidents of violence in the town were well down in comparison with previous years.

He said only one violent incident in the town was connected to a pub, but there had been nothing like the trouble experienced in previous years.

Chief Inspector Will Kennedy, operations manager for the Southend division, thanked the town's licencees.

He commented: "These results reflect well on the responsible attitude taken by licencees during the day.

"A number of licencees used the closure to prevent problems and other licencees with less potential for problems controlled their premises responsibly.

"Southend police found the response from all to be positive and helped Southend have an enjoyable yet responsible lead-up to Christmas day."

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