The death of happy hour — in which binge drinkers could buy alcohol at a discount — was signalled last month by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) in a move that was supposed to cut drunkenness and violence in town centres.

Pubs and bars, however, are getting round or ignoring the association’s policy by extending happy hours into “happy afternoons”, serving cheap beer in jugs and buckets to young people, offering treble shots of spirits for the price of singles.

Out of 100 pubs and bars around Britain visited by Sunday Times reporters last week, 39 still had drinks promotions, of which 17 appeared to be defying the new guidelines aimed at preventing alcohol misuse and antisocial behaviour.

The BBPA, whose members own more than 32,000 of the nation’s 59,000 pubs and brew 98% of the beer produced here, said it would investigate any allegations that its members were breaking the code.

The provisions of the rules, however, are imprecise and the organisation admits it has been told by the Office of Fair Trading that outlawing all drink promotions would be illegal, because it would remove competition from the £30 billion-a-year drinks market.

A bar belonging to one chain, Walkabout, which is a member of the BBPA, was offering “snakebites”. A combination of lager and cider topped with blackcurrant, it was being sold at half price before 7pm on Sundays.

Another bar had a two-for-one offer on jugs of beer to young people who could produce a students’ union card.

More than one-third of the bars visited in Newcastle upon Tyne last week still offered a “happy hour” promotion.

At Pumphreys in the city’s Bigg Market, Cathy Guthrie, 33, the assistant bar manager, said: “We do doubles for singles for £1.67 on selected spirits. I don’t think anyone has ever ordered a single.”

Belushi’s, the chain named after John Belushi, the actor who binged on food and alcohol before dying of a drug overdose, offers two-for-one bourbon and cola drinks before 8pm and bottles of Budweiser for 1p for anyone who orders a burger between 3pm and 7pm at its bars in central London.

“I suppose we are public enemy number one for offering shots all day and every day for £1, but they are only 20% proof. They are diluted with a mixer,” said Eddie Passey, the chain’s retail manager.

In Reading the Bar Risa and the adjoining Jongleurs comedy club offered two-for-one on buckets of bottled beer and jugs of draught for students on Thursday nights.

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