A LOLLIPOP scheme designed to reduce late-night street violence across Southampton has been hailed a success after helping to keep clubbers sweet.

Bosses at city centre pubs and clubs which took part in the three-month trial said dishing out lollies and playing silly tunes at closing time meant punters left with smiles on their faces.

The quirky crowd control initiative was tried in Southampton as part of the Daily Echo-backed Operation Viper campaign, aimed at reducing violence across the city.

About 10,000 lollipops have been given out by door staff at Flares, The Toad in the Park and Chicago Rock Cafe.

Meanwhile, DJs have been playing childhood tunes such as The Magic Roundabout and Wizard of Oz themes instead of thumping dance beats at the end of the evening in a bid to calm clubbers before they leave.

Police have been monitoring the trial to see whether it has had any effect on the numbers of violent incidents at the venues.

Today they said it was too early to establish whether the lollipop had succeeded in reducing violence.

But Mark Thomas, assistant boss at Flares nightclub, said: "We would be happy to take part in any further trials as it certainly seemed to work.

"It was funny seeing everyone's eyebrows going up when they saw the lollipops being given out.

"It was a bit of fun which seemed to go down well with the public, and our DJs enjoyed playing the jokey tunes at the end of the night too."

Nigel Barron, general manager at Chicago Rock Cafe, said: "Handing out the lollies was a nice gesture at the end of the night. We have had quite a few customers asking when we are getting some more to give out.

"Anything that cuts down hassle in the town has got to be a good thing; even if it prevents just one incident it has got to be worth it."

The trial followed successful pilot schemes in other parts of Britain including Leicester and Liverpool.