Pub Trouble at The City Arms

This morning, BBC Coventry and Warwickshire was reporting the trouble at the City Arms on the bank holiday. Due to violent conduct, they had to close early. As well, last week, a man was beat up in front of the Coventry Building Society.

We need to ask some hard questions about the "night time" economy in Earlsdon.

- Cars on Friday and Saturday nights use Earlsdon High Street as a drag strip, and 80% of pedestrian deaths on Friday and Saturday nights in Britain are alcohol-related. We need police enforcement of safe driving on our streets on weekend evenings.

- We need an organised taxi rank with information on how much fares would be to other parts of Coventry, with proper lighting. Other cities (Cardiff, Brighton) have had pilot projects of taxi drivers distributing safe sex information and condoms.

- Fiona Measham, a criminologist at Lancaster University, spoke on Radio 4 last September about how the drinks industry has gradually increased the strength of drinks (as well as creating new beverages, like alcopops). Part of what is going on is a culture where people can ask for triple sambucas throughout the night, and the bar keeps serving them.

- I support a review of late licenses that Coventry has granted, at the earliest opportunity, in all cases where there is any evidence of the licenses leading to crime or disorder.