STREET booze bans to be introduced in 19 wards across Crewe and Nantwich will help to reduce alcohol-related violence by up to 15%, a senior police officer has claimed.

The bans, or designated public place orders (DPPOs), are expected to come into effect in the autumn after councillors voted to approve the £11,000 scheme.

But opposition leaders have claimed the bans have taken too long to organise and not be in effect during the summer period, a prime time for alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour.

Addressing councillors, Cheshire Police Eastern area chief superintendent Ian Hopkins said he was pleased the council has heeded the police's appeal for greater powers.

He said: 'I've set a target to reduce alcohol-related violence by 15%, and the bans are a tool to assist with all the other interventions that are going on.

'This is about changing the culture of anti-social drinking, a way of saying it's not tolerated.'

But he warned councillors the orders would not be a cure-all, and communities would need to be realistic about how far the police will be able to go in enforcing the ban.