A NEW police officer has been assigned to make towns in Caerphilly county safer after dark.

PC Adam Lang will head up a push to reduce alcohol-fuelled violence and improve relationships with pubs and clubs in the area.

PC Lang, the new night time economy officer, has 13 years of experience in policing and will now be based in Ystrad Mynach police station.

His main role will see him target Blackwood and Caerphilly town centres in particular.

Another part of the role will be working on the ‘Safer Caerphilly After Dark’ campaign which brings together organisations including taxi companies, takeaways, restaurants, pubs, bouncers and street pastors, as well as the police and the council.

Since starting the role, PC Lang has visited pubs and off licenses talking about any issues and has also been signing pubs up to Pubwatch, a scheme promoting relations between pubs and the police.

PC Lang said: “The summer is almost here and traditionally we see an increase in alcohol related incidents. The weather plays a significant role in people’s drinking habits – all-day outdoor drinking, barbecues, bank holidays and this year we also have the World Cup.

“We’re not out to spoil people’s fun but we do want to remind those who do go out to drink responsibly.

“Far too often we see men and women who have never been in trouble with the police, drink to excess and then end up fighting.

“I’m sure a lot of people regret their actions the next morning but incidents like these can ruin people’s lives, at the least – a criminal record can have detrimental consequences on people’s future. My advice to those who plan to drink this summer is to try and drink responsibly – pre drinking at home is usually cheaper but people become complacent about measures.

“When you do go out, think about what you’ve already drunk and try not to mix your drinks and if you do see trouble starting, walk away from it – it really is no fun spending the night in one of our cells.”

Daniel Rees, the landlord of Porters in Blackwood said: “I’ve been the licensee at Porters Blackwood since September 2012 and since the beginning I’ve had a great deal of support from Gwent Police. They helped us set up the Nightnet radio system which is linked to most of the shops and participating pubs and clubs in the Blackwood area. This system is linked to the town centre CCTV and the emergency services and is a useful tool for dealing with any problems that arise.”