Boozy Britain gets even more time at the bar

Vomit on the pavement. Scantily clad teenage girls staggering into oncoming traffic. Fights in the street as police sirens wail.

This is Britain on a typical Saturday night.

An explosion in binge drinking over the past few years has turned many town centres into arenas of drunken debauchery.

And because of a new government plan, alcohol experts say it is set to get worse.

From February 7, bars and pubs across England and Wales can apply for a licence to open for up to 24 hours a day - sweeping away a fixed 11 p.m. closing time observed by most pubs since World War One. Scotland already has extended hours.

The move to flexible closing times, which take effect in November, has sparked a political brawl just weeks in the run-up to an expected May general election.

Prime Minister Tony Blair argues that the old system, which forced drinkers to booze against the clock before chucking them all out at the same time, fuelled drunken fights, vandalism and vomiting.

But alcohol experts, doctors and police officers say later hours will exacerbate binge drinking, liver disease and the "yob" behaviour that has earned the British worldwide notoriety.

"The evidence from Western Australia, Ireland and Iceland all points towards extending licensing hours increasing the number of people drinking more for longer, which results in more violence and disorder," said Colin Drummond, professor of Addiction Psychiatry at St George's Medical School in London.

Statistics show that 40 percent of weekend emergency hospital admissions are alcohol-related, a figure that rises to 70 percent after midnight, Drummond said. Booze-fuelled assaults have risen in recent years and cases of cirrhosis have surged.

BLAIR ON THE DEFENSIVE

Foreigners have always been bemused by the 11 o'clock ring of the closing bell. Now they are shocked by the ensuing scenes.

"Come 11 o'clock at night, the streets are littered with large groups of young men completely drunk, being loud and staggering about," said Riwa Komatsubara, a 35-year-old TV producer from Japan.

Apocalyptic warnings of the consequences of late opening have put Blair on the defensive.

Pubs will be forced to pay a levy for extra policing if they fail to curb anti-social drinking in their vicinity and ministers are launching a crackdown on the promotion of cheap drink.

The government and the drinks industry however have dismissed what they say are scare stories of "all-day boozing".

The British Beer and Pub Association says none of its 35,000 members wants a 24-hour licence.

Most bars will stay open for a few extra hours at weekends so Britons can have a late-night tipple after the theatre, as enjoyed in France or Spain, Blair says.