A ROGUE'S gallery of violent hellraisers pioneered by Pub-Watch Halton has won nationwide approval from scores of police forces throughout the UK.

A website featuring the mugshots of those banned under PubWatch was created in July to help all 110 licensees in Runcorn and Widnes who are members of the scheme.

Now, only five months later, Pub-Watch in Widnes and Runcorn is leading the way in after police forces hurried to sign up to Halton's namingand-shaming initiative.

Ian Seville, Halton's licensing officer, who came up with the idea, said: 'The idea of publishing the faces of trouble-makers online has snowballed way beyond my expectations.

'Nearly every police force in the country has contacted me asking how they can follow the Halton template.

'We have taken PubWatch in Widnes and Runcorn into the 21st Century and now other forces up and down the country are following suit.'

This website means the police have the ability to post the photographs on to a password-protected section of the site, giving controlled and immediate access to PubWatch licensees as well as helping them keep in touch.

The news was been welcomed by Halton licensees.

Mr Seville added: 'Officers from Gloucestershire, Cornwall, the Forest of Dean and Suffolk have even made the trip to Halton to speak to me about it.

'Now all the boroughs that don't have PubWatch schemes are taking note and they are copying what we do.

'It is having a positive effect on the pub industry and we can only see PubWatch in Widnes and Runcorn going from strength to strength.'

Mr Seville and his colleague Steve Davies, who designed the site, will take their project to the National PubWatch Conference in Coventry in February.