Pub landlords are to form an action group to tackle a growing trend of drink-fuelled violence plaguing the City of Hamilton.

Managers say they will share information about known troublemakers and hold regular meetings to discuss ways of confronting binge-drinkers causing mayhem in the Front Street area.

The scheme could ultimately mean people acting violently in one bar would find themselves banned from a string of venues across town.

Landlords would also be encouraged to telephone each other to warn about gangs of aggressive drunken youths who are heading in their direction.

The project is being led by managers at the Docksiders pub, where a reveller had been drinking minutes before he was viciously assaulted in an alleyway in the early hours of Thursday, December 28.

It has already won support from Police and a host of landlords in the Front Street area.

A similar initiative was set up on the Island several years ago but faded without achieving the results for which organisers had hoped.

However, Anthony White, managing director at the Docksiders, says he has seen a number of successful similar ?Pubwatch? operations in his native UK and feels it is the way forward for Bermuda.

Mr. White said: ?We have all seen these troublemakers in the town. You have to be proactive and try to come up with methods to stop them.

?We know all the owners of the other pubs and we have all discussed getting together a forum to see what we can do. This isn?t just something I?m thinking about ? it?s something I?m going to do.

?I think if you are banned from one bar, you should be banned from other bars too. If somebody has been causing trouble in another pub, why should we want them in our pub??

Mr. White?s business partner Reid Young agrees. He said: ?Everybody gets complaints about troublemakers around here. It?s much worse that it was a few years ago.

?I?m sure all the managers are willing to pitch in and ostracise the offenders. How we do it, I?m not sure, and that?s something we will have to discuss.

?This is one of those things which has been tried in the past, but not really followed through.

?Four or five years ago everybody agreed to do it, but there were problems identifying who the trouble-makers were. But I think a forum is a great idea and I?d like to see it work.?

The 21-year-old victim in last Thursday?s attack, which happened in Fagan?s Alley at about 1.20 a.m., was taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital suffering from bruising and swelling to his face.

He was assaulted minutes after about three or four people were thrown out of the Docksiders following what management described as a ?minor scuffle?.

Police arrested the suspect, a 24-year-old man from St. George?s, after he was caught on CCTV footage inside the Docksiders earlier in the evening. reported last week how Mr. White and Mr. Young had installed a hi-tech CCTV system, featuring 48 cameras, as part of a ?zero tolerance? policy towards violence.

Other incidents over the past few months include a savage attack on a Portuguese football fan in Front Street after he had been watching a World Cup game in the Docksiders in July.

The victim needed plastic surgery after he was set upon by a group of four people.

Duncan Adams, general manager at Bermuda Bistro At The Beach ? formerly The Beach ? said he supported the creation of a forum.

?There seems to be a recurring problem on Front Street,? he said. ?A lot of youngsters hang about and cause trouble.

?It?s about time we got together and tried to do something about it and this is a good idea.

?We tried it before a few years ago and now it?s time to try it again.?

Chris Garland, manager at Flanagan?s Irish Pub, said his venue had improved its reputation since cancelling Saturday night parties 18 months ago.

But he said he backed the idea of a forum to tackle problems across town.

Mr. Garland said: ?We were getting troublemakers at the party nights on Saturdays, so we made a move to change things about a year and a half ago and put it back to a traditional sports bar. Since then it?s been a lot better.

?But the troublemakers are going to be somewhere so it would be good to do something about them. This is a good idea. They can count me in.?

Assistant Police Commissioner Carlton Adams said the force would support the scheme, but urged landlords to ensure their methods stayed within the law.

He said: ?We are working with the licensees to tackle drink-related trouble anyway.

?Whatever they decide to do of their own accord that enhances our ability to deal with bad behaviour is to be applauded, provided they stay within the law.?