It is very disappointing news that a Bradford nightclub has been named as being at the heart of the second most violent night-life troublespot in West Yorkshire.
Although police admit that people queuing for taxis outside the club is a more significant factor than trouble on the premise, the 89 violent offences which occurred in and around Livingstones in the West End in the year up to March, which led to 60 arrests, are very worrying. The last thing Bradford needs at this stage of its regeneration is to gain a reputation for drink-related offences.
We have grown used to hearing about violence outside pubs and clubs in city and town centres, even in places supposedly as glamorous as Leeds, but hitherto late-night drinking in Bradford has managed to avoid such heights of notoriety.
Trouble somehow seems inevitable when clusters of bars are brought together in a closely-knit area, with drinkers passing from one to the other, often seeking happy hours and discount deals.
We wouldn't want to spoil anyone's fun. Everyone has a right to enjoy a drink, but they don't have the right to interfere with the right of others to do so without their enjoyment being marred by trouble and violence.
A great deal has been said about curtailing cut-price drinks offers, but it is clear that more still needs to be done. Those who continue to sell alcohol to customers who obviously have had enough must bear some of the blame for any problems which beset the West End and take some of the responsibility for sorting it out.
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