Five of them have formed a consortium to negotiate a better deal for the usually more expensive plastic, or polycarbonate, containers.

One of the members of the pioneering group predicted every pub and club around the town would make the switch for safety's sake in the next few years.

Harvey Bailey, the joint owner of Mud Club, said: "There are five of us in the consortium at the moment and the number is growing rapidly.

"Together, we have got more weight to go to the providers and get a better deal.

"That has started to cut down the price of the polycarbonates and make them more viable."

The Mud Club will become all plastic by August 8. This is a condition of its new premises licence which has to be observed to ensure the club continues to operate legally.

At present, the club serves drinks in toughened glass drinking vessels, which smash like car windscreens into tiny baubles, and glass bottles, which break into sharp shards.

"Everything that goes over the bar after August 8 will be in plastic," said Mr Bailey. "We will pour out anything in glass bottles."

The move towards the smash-resistant drinking vessels is being encouraged by the police.

Their concerted action on the streets has seen violent incidents in public decline in the past two years from the time when The Esplanade was the eighth most violent public place in Sussex.

But they are keen to see the number of incidents being reduced even further.

PC Dave Whitcombe, the licensing officer for the Arun district, said: "The Mud Club will be the second licensed premises in Bognor to go all-plastic.

"I am planning for another three to follow in the near future. From a public safety point of view, we would like all licensed premises to be serving plastic.

"We would rather that happened voluntarily than through having the plastic imposed in a review of a premises licence.

"Most violent incidents involve a bottle being smashed in someone's face. That just does not happen with plastic bottles.

"The public deserve to be safe, the staff at the licensed premises deserve to be safe.

"It's all about people enjoying themselves in a safe and sound environment and polycarbonate drinking vessels can help to achieve that."




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