EXTENDED pub opening hours will stretch police resources, fears a town councillor - and one nightclub manager thinks it will merely move trouble later into night.

Conservative councillor Peter Anderson is horrified at the prospect of round-the-clock drinking when legislation comes into force later this year, saying morepolicing in the town centre would limit resources elsewhere.

He said: "Police are stretched enough as it is, but will be forced to work later into the night and focus their attentions almost entirely on the town centre, at the expense of smaller community projects."

Mr Anderson said he feared the laws, aimed at quelling binge-drinking and reducing disorder before 11pm, may have the opposite effect.

He said: "It's a very silly idea and one that simply won't work in Britain. The only deterrent is to raise the price of alcohol so people can't afford to binge."

Time Nightclub manager Neil Tompsett wants to extend his club opening hours by one hour to 3am, from Thursday-Sunday, but feared "sleepy old Redditch" would suffer as a result of the law change.

"It might be a good idea in theory, but in reality it will just push the town's problems further along into the night," he said.

Most town centre pubs have applied for extended hours, with the Litten Tree, in Market Place, wanting to stay open until 2am from Thursday-Saturday and 12.30am on Sunday.

The Sportsman, in Peakman Street, wants to be open an hour later from Monday-Wednesday and one-and-a-half hours later on Sundays.

Yates' Wine Lodge, in Alcester Street, has applied to add 30 minutes onto drinking-up time and to stay open until midnight on specified bank holidays.

The Rose and Crown, in Webheath, also plans to extend its hours between Monday and Sunday from 10am-midnight, sparking 29 letters of objection from neighbours.

A last-minute rush has seen 97 per cent of town licensees finally putting in their applications, leading to an overload of work for council officers.