Violent and persistent anti-social offenders are facing being excluded from the town centre in a bid to boost the night-time economy.

Hyndburn Police will use new legislation to issue Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) as part of a crackdown on troublemakers in large parts of Accrington.

Backed by the threat of prison sentences for breaches, the scheme is being supported by Hyndburn council as part of ongoing efforts to boost the town centre and rid it of a perceived ‘thuggish’ reputation.

Councillors believe up to 40 individuals could be served with the orders which will be used to target the ‘worst of the worst’.

Offenders who receive banning orders will be named and shamed publicly so landlords and the public can report breaches.

Sgt John Kennedy, of Hyndburn Police, said CBOs have been successful in tackling shoplifters and they now want to use the powers to protect the night-time economy.

He told the Observer: “We feel that Accrington is a safe place at night but there’s definitely been a drop off in the number of people coming to pubs over the last decade or so.

“This is mainly due to a fear of crime, which the figures don’t necessarily bear out. When the banning orders come into place we need to be proactive in targeting those individuals. It’s got to mean something.

“The public are our eyes and ears and if someone shouldn’t be there then they need to tell us so we can deal with it.

“We already have the Pubwatch scheme which identifies people who are not welcome but this is much more impactive and it will make it a criminal offence if you breach the order.”

Sgt Kennedy said low-level persistent offenders will fall foul of the scheme should warning letters and fines fail to work, but could be immediately applied in the case of more violent offenders.

The terms and length of the CBO will vary for each offender depending on their crime, however any breaches could result in a jail sentence.

John Corbett, who runs the Warner Arms, said he supported the initiative and hopes it will reduce anti-social problems in the area.

He said: “We want it to bring more, nicer people into the town and make them feel safe. We have got to promote the night-time economy because it’s a dying breed. We are one of the few still going.”

Orders will tackle 'huge confidence problem'

Councillors say banning orders will help address a ‘huge confidence problem’ in night-time safety.

Coun Clare Cleary, cabinet member for the town centre, said the matter has been considered as a possible regeneration tool for some time.

She said: “Now that we are looking to increase the offering in the evening with the new town square we want it to be a nice place to come.

“We want people to come into town - but we don’t want trouble and vandalism.”

Conservative group leader Tony Dobson said they need to address people’s fears of coming into town. He said: “We want to take care of the worst of the worst, and give a shot across the bow to those who are borderline.

“There is a general undercurrent in Accrington town centre of it being a bit thuggish and whenever you speak to nice people they say they don’t want to be walking down Warner Street and seeing some lad in the road blocking up the traffic with his shirt off shouting and screaming.

“I don’t think the figures necessarily show that we’ve got a huge problem but what we have got is a huge confidence problem.”