BAR owner who was one of the first to sign up to a scheme to kick troublemakers out of Middlewich pubs has been banned from every boozer except her own.

Melanie Ollier has been told she is no longer allowed to enter any bars involved in the Pubwatch scheme in Middlewich, except Cafe Bar M in Wheelock Street which she owns.

The ban was ordered by Pub-watch - formed to unite landlords against troublemakers - after Miss Ollier was involved in an altercation with a family member at her home.

It was revealed Miss Ollier was hit with the ban after hooligans already barred from Middlewich pubs wrote to insist she receive the same punishment as them.

Initially, Pubwatch chiefs were simply going to give her a written warning, but they increased the punishment to an outright ban after she 'refused' to accept the rebuke.

One licensee explained: 'There was a bit of a to-do and there were letters of complaint by other people who had, because of their behaviour, been placed on the banned list. We received a petition with 28 signatures - 18 of whom had been barred from all the bars in Middlewich.

'At a meeting it was decided Miss Ollier would get a letter of warning about her behaviour, but she didn't accept it.

'There was an emergency meeting and it was decided she should be put on the list for three months and forbidden from going into any bar other than her own.'

Police confirmed a ban had been issued and a spokesman praised the effectiveness of the Pubwatch scheme.

He said: 'We understand there was a meeting where a local woman was added to the list and banned.

'Pubwatch is working very well - it's an excellent scheme.'

But Miss Ollier claims she is not on the banned list and believes mischief-makers already barred by her have been out for revenge.

She said the argument she was involved in took place in her private home - as she lives above her cafe bar - and that the complainants were drinkers who felt wronged because they were already excluded from pubs in the town.

Miss Ollier, who has been involved in Pubwatch since it was formed in March, said: 'The lads who have been banned before are being vicious.

'They don't like Pubwatch - these people think they can never get back into the pubs, but they can write to the Pubwatch committee who will look at the situation.'

Under the rules of the ban she will still be allowed to work from Cafe Bar M, but will not be able to enter other pubs until the three-month ban has been served.

And despite the dispute, Miss Ollier is still a firm believer in the Pubwatch scheme. She added: 'I think Pubwatch is a brilliant idea - this is just a private matter.'