text: Fri 25 Nov 2005 08.58 EST
  Devon and Cornwall police revealed they will be handing out £80 fines to errant bar staff. Officers said they expect the pubs and clubs themselves to act responsibly to prevent binge drinking, antisocial behaviour and violence. A spokesman said of the fines: "They are an effective way of dealing with it and licensees should be aware this undercover operation will be going on."
  The plan was outlined as ministers and police forces around the country reflected on Wednesday night's quiet start to the new era of liberalised drinking laws. Only a handful of pubs opened to mark the advent of the legislation and there were few reports of disorder.
  In London, police said it had been one of the quietest nights in weeks, while in Nottingham and Newcastle, the streets cleared early and many of the pubs closed at 11pm. A police spokesman cited the weather as a factor, saying: "Who would want to be out drinking all night on a wet, windy Wednesday?"
  Speaking on GMTV, the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, said the new regime would give the authorities a greater opportunity to stamp out antisocial behaviour. "It gives police unprecedented powers to crack down on alcohol-fuelled violence," she said.
  But others continued to voice doubts about the long term effects. Officials from the shopworkers union Usdaw said supermarket staff would need more protection. They said many of the 20,000 assaults on shop staff last year were caused by their refusal to serve alcohol to particular customers.
  John Hannett, Usdaw general secretary, said: "We are concerned that ready availability of cheap alcohol will attract drunks to stores and we will be monitoring this situation very closely to see if our fears are realised.
  "Our primary concern is the safety of our members so we will work closely with supermarkets to make sure that adequate security is in place where stores have a 24-hour licence."
  Fears were also expressed for pedestrians. A survey released by the RAC Foundation revealed that more than half of the pedestrians killed in road crashes between 10pm and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays are more than twice over the drink-drive alcohol limit.
  Of pedestrians in the 25-29 age group who died in road accidents last year and who were known to have alcohol in their blood, two-thirds were over the drink-drive limit.
  Kevin Delaney, head of road safety at the RAC Foundation, said: "It is worrying to see the rising numbers of young pedestrians killed after drinking and the rises in fatalities who had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. Drunken pedestrians leave themselves open to injury or death because their condition means that they are not in a fit state to consider the road safety dangers."