A SCHEME to crack down on troublemakers in Evesham's pubs and clubs is celebrating its first birthday - and has been hailed a roaring success.

PubLink was launched last October in a joint initiative between town police and licensees.

The scheme was devised by Evesham beat manager PC Paul Adams and was designed to provide a message linking service between town centre venues who signed up.

It works in a similar way to shop radio link systems. Radios include a panic button connected to a control room, which can then focus CCTV cameras on problem areas.

"We think it's a really good scheme," said Melanie Burdon, duty manager at the Old Swanne Inne, in the High Street.

"It's made a difference in so much as we carry radios and if there's any trouble we're in immediate contact with the cameras and police. It's also useful to hear if there's trouble in the town.

"At the weekend the managers carries it visibly clamped on their belts and it acts as a deterrent."

Community beat manager Tom Iddon said the watch scheme had been a success and allowed nightspots to work together to prevent trouble.

"That happened the other weekend," he added. "The doorman of one pub refused someone admittance, then saw them wandering off in the direction of another pub and so he radioed them to let them know.

"As it was, the man wandered off somewhere else, but it shows as long as people communicate, the scheme is bound to work."