Fareham residents have welcomed the news that the town will soon be swept free of street-drinking louts.

Civic chiefs announced that they were hoping to roll out a ban on drinking alcohol in public places in order to tackle violent crime and clean up the area.

Now residents have given the news a big thumbs up and look forward to the prospect of shopping with their families and children without the fear of intimidation from groups of drunken yobs.

One Fareham resident, who has experienced intimidation from a group of street-drinkers, but would not be named, said: "It's great news. There are often groups of people hanging around the bus station and outside the memorial drinking.

"It can be really intimidating to walk past them - especially for older people. It's about time something was done."

Civic bosses are hoping that the scheme, which will give police discretionary powers to confiscate and arrest, if necessary, people acting in a drunk and disorderly manner, will be brought in early next year.

Council leader Sean Wood-ward, pictured, said: "We are hopeful that the new scheme will be in place by January or February, if not then, certainly by the start of the financial year in April.

"I think that members of the public will be really pleased that this is being introduced and that we will be sweeping up drunken behaviour in Fareham - not just in Quay Street, but a substantial area of the borough."

He added: "The ban will give police the power to confiscate alcohol and arrest anyone if they feel it is necessary to do so.

"Also the discretion to allow situations where it's just a family in a park having a picnic. We just want to get rid of the drunk and disorderly louts that are intimidating others."

Audrey Sitch, of the Fareham Community Association, said: "If they can make the streets safer for people then it's a good idea.

"This sort of drunken behaviour just doesn't seem to happen on the streets abroad so why should people behave like that here?"

Acting Insp Pat Dawson, at Fareham police, said it will help them deal with people other than youths who come into the town to drink.

"It will bridge the gap for us," he said.

"At the moment we can confiscate alcohol from youths anyway if they are under-age but there have been problems with adults in the past as we could only really tell them to move on. Now we have the discretion to arrest them if we see fit. Reasons for arrest will have to be given in court. I think it will really help clean up the area."