A MAN threatening passers-by with a knife, a fight at a taxi rank and numerous instances of verbal abuse were just some of the eye-openers for Worcester Mayor, Coun Gareth Jones, on a night out with the police in the Faithful City.

Coun Jones' shock at the antics of some of those out on the streets at that time will, we are sure, be echoed by many residents.

Worcester city centre should be a place where people can go about their lawful business at any time of the day or night, unmolested.

Sadly, this is obviously not the case - and it is only through the hard work and professional diligence of our police officers that some of these incidents did not become more serious.

Although the police are to be commended for their efforts in keeping a lid on such behaviour, they are, of course, limited in their powers to prevent it occurring in the first place.

There is an alcohol-fuelled yob culture that exists in towns and cities across the country.

Britain's binge drinking is, according to Government figures, costing the country £20bn a year.

Around 40 per cent of all Accident and Emergency admissions are alcohol-related - a figure which rises to 70 per cent between midnight and 5am.

While we applaud the efforts of our law enforcement officers in tackling incidents similar to those witnessed by Coun Jones, no amount of police presence will prevent them from occurring.

Our society's attitude to alcohol and binge-drinking must change before any real progress can be made.