Exmoor village's Pubwatch scheme aims to tackle troublemakers

LICENSEES in Porlock are working closely with local police to help make the village a safer place.
Seven public houses in and around the village have signed up to a Pubwatch scheme which will help police to deal with those involved in anti-social behaviour and drink-related crime.
Anybody involved in violence, criminal damage, or causing alarm and harassment to other pub-goers, will face a six-month ban from all of the venues.
And any assaults on licensees or staff will see them banned for life from all the premises.
The move comes nearly a month after an outbreak of violence and assaults in the otherwise sleepy village which have all been linked by residents to one particular ‘problem’ family.
Police are continuing with an investigation into the New Year troubles, which included an early evening incident where a gang of hammer-wielding youths smashed every High Street window of the Ship Inn while customers were eating and drinking inside.
Sgt Andy Whysall, who heads the Dulverton area’s ‘Safer, Stronger Neighbourhood Team’, said: “Porlock is a picturesque village on Exmoor, where the local residents enjoy a peaceful way of life - we want to keep it that way.
“If somebody is ejected from one pub for being a nuisance, they will be banned from there for the night, the other premises will be informed, and that person may find themselves banned from all the venues in the village for the rest of the evening.
“Persistent troublemakers face being banned from every local pub for at least six months, something we hope will make people reform their behaviour.
“This is another example of the local community working together in partnership with the police to build a safer, stronger neighbourhood.”
The scheme includes the Royal Oak, the Lorna Doone Hotel, Castle Hotel, Ship Inn, Anchor Hotel, and the Ship Inn, at Porlock Weir, and the Culbone Inn, at Oare.
Pubwatch and the ‘banned from one, banned from all’ scheme has already been introduced successfully in many towns and large villages across the Avon and Somerset Police area.

• Our photograph shows the Lorna Doone Hotel, in Porlock, which is one of the premises taking part in the Pubwatch scheme. Photo submitted.