IPSWICH: A town centre nightspot is serving drinks in plastic beakers and bottles from today after licensing chiefs banned the use of glass containers.

Bar staff at Pals, in the Old Cattle Market, have also been signed up for training in how to “recognise and deal with customers who have had too much to drink”.

Ipswich Borough Council decided at a licensing hearing to extend conditions which had been temporarily imposed several weeks ago.

The popular nightclub has been ordered to permanently replace all its glasses with plastic ones and to collect empties more frequently from around the bar.

The hearing followed a review which took place after a number of incidents in Pals in 2009 and then at the beginning of May this year, when officers were sent to three separate early morning reports of trouble during a music event.

The bar’s management said they accepted the council’s decision, adding: “We take customer safety and local resident welfare very seriously and work extremely hard to ensure Pals provides an exciting and safe night out for customers and contributes positively to the local community.

“Working closely with the police, we were looking to introduce plastic glasses and bottles as an extra precaution during the World Cup, as the safety of our customers is always our priority.

“As such, we support the recent decision by the council that calls for drinks to be served in plastic glasses and bottles.

“The quality of polycarbonates has improved hugely over the last year or so, and our suppliers are increasingly providing their drinks in plastic bottles.

“This makes it easier to provide our customers with a great experience as well as improved safety.

“We work very hard with the police, council and local residents and will continue to do so to ensure Pals continues to be one of Ipswich’s most popular bars.”

n Can a ban on glasses ensure trouble-free bars and clubs in Ipswich? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk