Lowestoft man first to receive drinks ban

A LOWESTOFT man has become the first person in Waveney to fall foul of new drinking banning orders.

Michael Lee, 32, of Waveney Crescent, will now be banned from entering any licensed public house or club in Lowestoft, Oulton Broad, Beccles and Great Yarmouth - which also includes gardens, patios, outside seating areas, and smoking areas within pubs or bars.

Drinking Banning Orders (DBOs) were introduced in Waveney at the end of March law to help police control disorderly drinkers and to clamp down on alcohol-related anti-social behaviour.

DBOs, which came into force nationally in 2009, work in a similar way to Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs); they can be made against anyone over 16 who has been involved in crime or disorderly behaviour after drinking in order to prevent their behaviour from continuing.

Lee appeared before Lowestoft magistrates on Tuesday, and they made him subject to a DBO which covers the Lowestoft, Oulton Broad, Beccles, and Great Yarmouth area.

Under the terms of the DBO, he is also banned from drinking alcohol in any public place or carrying any open container of alcohol in any public place within the specified areas.

Speaking after the hearing, Insp Sarsfield Donohue, who was recently appointed as a new inspector to oversee the three Safer Neighbourhood Teams in Lowestoft, said: 'This is the first drinking banning order to be handed out in Waveney and one of the first in Suffolk.'

In coming months, DBOs will be increasingly used as an additional sentencing option for magistrates and people given an order will have the chance to complete a Positive Behaviour Intervention course, which focuses on how drinking impacts their health and other people.