FORCING pubs in Swindon trouble spots to use plastic glasses has been debated by councillors.

The concept was floated in a review of Swindon Council's licensing guidelines, being considered by councillors.

But at a meeting of the licensing committee, councillors asked for more thoughts before taking a decision.

"We have said we don't want to make everything completely inflexible," said Coun Brian Mattock, chairman of the committee. "We want premises to have freedom to run their establishments effectively and safely.

"But if we find somewhere where there is a particular problem, which isn't possible to solve in other ways, let's look at the option.

"But we are not saying every pub in the central area with outside drinking facilities should have plastic glasses."

Swindon Council licensing officer Lionel Starling, who wrote the report, said glasses and bottles were sometimes used as weapons in fights.

In the report, he wrote: "The licensing authority will be sympathetic to police representations that glass be banned from pavement areas in the town centre after 8pm."

At the meeting he told councillors that plastic glasses were a sensitive' issue in the licensed trade.

He also told the meeting that some councils had adopted a blunderbuss' approach to bringing in plastic, and all pubs had been made to bring them in.

But councillors asked for more thought on the issue.

Coun Brian Ford (Con, Wroughton and Chiseldon) said: "Plastic glasses could be used as a sanction.

"When a location is up for a licensing review and if there's major problems, but you don't want to close the pub, you could make sure they were using plastic glasses."

Coun Mattock added: "That's really where this could make a difference. What we aren't doing is talking about banning glasses from town centre pubs for no good reason."

Coun David Glaholm (Ind, Penhill) said: "I would like to suggest, while we consult with the trade on plastic glasses, we should talk to pubs about bringing in oversized plastic glasses.

"Everyone here knows full well that when a beer is poured to the top there is a major head - 10 per cent of the beer could be head.

"If a pint costs £2.50 and 10 per cent is head they are wasting 25p.

"I think this is really costing a lot of people in this town a lot of money."