NEW licensing laws which will allow pubs to open longer could require more PCs on the streets, force chiefs have warned.

Chief Insp Sharon Gibbons, of West Mercia police, said the Licensing Act 2003, which will enable licensed premises to apply to the local authority for extended opening hours from next month, could lead to an upsurge in drunken violence.

Chief Insp Gibbons said a worst-case scenario would be a whole wave of establishments applying to the local authority for later licensing hours.

And she cited the recent Panorama documentary on television which shocked the nation with its focus on late-night drinking in Nottingham.

"There were some horrific scenes in that and if we are to watch late-night activities it does create difficulties when they are too close together," she said, at a meeting of the South Worcester-shire Community Policing Board on Wednesday

Chief Insp Gibbons said the new laws could also see other businesses such as fish and chip shops and video rental stores applying for licences to sell alcohol.

She added that it would be up to the force and local authorities to work together to establish a common approach on the issue.

"It is a risk and a threat and I suppose for us the worst case scenario is if we did have a large-scale move to drinking in some areas and we'd have to increase policing at night," she added.