“At last! An end to 24-hour drinking” the Daily Mail’s front page lead story was headlined a week ago.

 

When it was introduced in the UK in 2005 it was claimed that more relaxed opening times would lead to a continental-style ‘café culture’ but the new Government says this has proved a nonsense. They are to introduce powers to stem the drink-fuelled violence which has turned town centres into ‘wild west’ zones.

 

Now town halls will be able to reinstate traditional closing times in areas where late-night opening is causing havoc. In future, bars that do stay open late will have to pay a levy to put extra police on the streets.

 

The irony of that there are more uniformed police on duty on quiet Monday mornings – when they should least be needed – than at any other time of the week. In some forces, nearly twice as many front-line officers are available at the start of the week than late night on Fridays when incidents of drunken street violence rocket.

 

What is puzzling about this is that it is seemingly a peculiarly British phenomenon. There are dozens and dozens of countries throughout the world which have no restrictions on bar opening times and yet violence is rare. In 11 years living in Nerja I have seen one fight and that was in Plaza Tutti Frutti at about 5am in the bar opposite the one I had there at the time. Similarly, when I lived in Montreal for three years I don’t recall ever seeing a fight.

 

Back in the UK, however, while I don’t recall seeing any fights it was certainly not pleasant to walk home from the pub at 11.15 or so in the very affluent London suburb where I lived. Drunken yobs would be on their way home too but shouting and screaming.

 

Now I’m told that this can take place there at 5am and they make enough noise to wake you up.

 

Is this something in the British psyche? There seems to be some suppressed anger and violence in many young men which is only brought out by alcohol. Late opening accounts for about a quarter of the police’s £400million overtime bill. Now it emerges that the percentage of violence linked to alcohol is rising and has reached 50 per cent.

 

Could somebody explain why?