A BID to protect Bewdley Leisure Centre from underage boozers will have to wait until next summer.

The Stourport Road complex has been plagued by youngsters pushed out of the town centre by a ban on street drinking but moves to extend the zone to encompass the building have been branded "premature".

Instead a look at how well the ban has performed one year down the line next July would determine if the zone was widened, said chief executive of Wyre Forest District Council Walter Delin.

In a letter to members of Bewdley Town Council - which made the request - Mr Delin said: "It would be a little premature to give consideration to an extension before we know how well this intervention is working.

"This will include consulting residents and businesses within the zone, in addition to analysing quantitative data collected by the police."

And Mr Delin stressed the alcohol- free zone should not be used as a quick-fix solution as looking into the "root causes of these problems" was needed to begin the "most appropriate and sustainable intervention".