Pubs and clubs will have to help foot the bill for tackling alcohol-fuelled violence if they continue to be disorderly after an eight-week warning, the Government announced today.

Ministers unveiled a package of measures, designed to deflect concerns over the Government's plans to introduce 24-hour pub opening, starting next month.

Under the new plans, drinkers will be banned from their favourite pubs and bars if they have already committed three alcohol-related crimes. The announcement today also included a crackdown on happy hours and cheap drinks promotions.

Ministers stopped short of a compulsory up-front levy on pubs and clubs, a move bitterly opposed by the drinks industry. Instead premises within new Alcohol Disorder Zones, where persistent problems with binge drinking have been identified, will be given an eight-week warning first.

No figures have yet been agreed for the amount that pubs will have to pay towards policing costs if they fail to prevent violence after the warning period is up.

Under the new Drinking Banning Orders, drinkers whose alcohol-fuelled antics have earned them three on-the-spot fines or convictions will be banned from pubs and bars in specified areas for a fixed time.

Children who attempt to buy alcohol will also get on-the-spot fines, as will bar staff who serve drunks. Fines for selling to under 18s will go up from £1,000 to £5,000.

Hazel Blears, a Home Office Minister, said police and trading standards officers will be given the power to ban premises from selling alcohol for 24 hours where there is evidence they are persistently selling to under 18s.

She said: "There are many responsible pub and club operators but there is more to be done if we are to achieve a fundamental change in attitude so that ’binge’ and under-age drinking are no longer regarded as socially acceptable.

"We support steps the alcohol industry is taking to tackle binge drinking by cutting down on irresponsible drinks promotions, but we know that there is still a problem with underage drinking - over 1,000 instances of alcohol being sold to minors were identified during the summer and Christmas campaigns."

Ms Blears said the drinks industry would be asked for its views on the proposals but she hoped most of the measures would be in place by the time round-the-clock licensing comes into force in November.

Further measures included a new licensing structure due to begin next month, in which new "megapubs" opening in town or city centres will pay £2,955 in their first year, and £1,050 in ensuing years. At present they pay just £10 a year.

Responsibility for awarding new drinks licences will pass from magistrates' courts to local authority licensing committees.

A code of practice for the drinks industry will also be drawn up to stop aggressive promotions which the Government thinks are partly responsible for the growth in a binge drinking culture.

Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, said: "Our current licensing laws are creaking under the strain. That’s why we are reforming them - to make our towns and cities safe for all, not a free for all.

"The steps we are proposing today support the tough measures in the Licensing Act 2003. They send out a clear message - we will not tolerate the disorder and anti-social behaviour that blights our towns and city centres."

Opponents of the new rules, including some senior police officers, have warned that 24-hour drinking could lead to more alcohol-fuelled disorder in towns and cities.

Chris Fox, President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said it would be difficult to enforce and track the banning orders. He said: "It will be difficult but not impossible because local officers, particularly in a big city, get to know the sort of people that are about and the sort of groups they go around in."

On the Alcohol Disorder Zones, he added: "Hopefully, the eight-week warning period gives people a chance to change their behaviour and we won’t need to recover costs. This gives a yellow card to those premises."

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