Cafe Manyana was one of the clubs involved. Photo by spamdangler (Flickr)

Two bar staff in Preston have been fined for serving drunk customers during a police clampdown on excessive drinking.

Five bars in Preston city centre were inspected in August by undercover officers as part of a process to regulate the serving of alcohol.

The staff, one from Café Manyana on Church Street and the other from Macs, Friargate, were given on-the-spot fines after they were spotted serving people who were already drunk.

Sgt John Lovick from Preston Police’s Licensing Department said: “It is against the law to serve alcohol to anyone who is thought to be drunk and the licensee has a responsibility to make sure that this is abided by.

“When people have had too much to drink, the chance of violence increases and violence caused by drunkenness will simply not be tolerated.”

Macs Bar owner, Andy MacDonald said the incident had set an example to those at the bar.

“I was disappointed that he was served and all the staff have been spoken to. The good that comes from it is that it sets an example now and it will not happen again. We’ve certainly learned from it,” he said.

The inspections came as part of an operation to tackle binge drinking in the city centre which has seen an increase in police and paramedics helping inebriated people.

Sgt Lovick added that he wanted people to still enjoy themselves but be more responsible when on nights out.

“We have seen a small increase in calls requiring both police and paramedics to deal with people who are completely inebriated through excessive drinking. These people put themselves at risk both physically and medically.

“We want people to come to Preston, drink responsibly and have a safe night out. This operation is about reducing occurrences of violent crime and reducing the chances of becoming a victim of crime.”