I’M still trying to digest the fact that our town centre has 51 bars and pubs as revealed in our story last week.

Quite why we need that many is questionable, but I welcome the news that Cheshire Police is trying to reintroduce 2am licences.

The current practice where pubs and bars open until around 4am seems excessive. Even if you don’t go out until 10pm that’s still six hours of drinking.

Most of us are very weary of the town’s boozy reputation dragging us down.

Police have blamed late opening bars for rowdy behaviour and violence on our streets.

Our Bridge Street office is bang in the middle of some of the most ghastly pubs in the town. Garishly painted boozers and kebab shops occupy most of the space which was once taken by shops.

In these pubs, daytime drinking is often accompanied by karaoke music blasting out.

Not to mention irresponsible drink offers to lure people in – drinks for £1 on Tuesdays, two for one cocktails, fishbowls and so on.

How can pubs expect their customers to be sensible if they are doing their best to drown them in booze?

The daytime drinkers are probably totally different to the alcohol-soaked night owls but it would be good to project a different image in this part of town. Certainly alternative aromas other than lager, bitter, doner kebabs and greasy fried chicken would be welcome.

The council says the 2am licence is part of its wider plan for the town centre so why on earth has it just let another pub open on Lower Bridge Street?

If we’ve got 51 already, the council should stop letting people open bars and clubs – we really don’t need any more.

IT seems ‘rules is rules’ however unfair they are.

No crazier than last week’s story about a kids’ football team which historically had an agreement to play on the former Longbarn Primary School pitch for free.

Town Hall bosses had made a pledge that the pitch would stay in community use.

Now reopened as a school for excluded pupils the council has decided the youngsters’ team needs to pay to play on the pitch.

“We’re looking to bring them in line with other clubs,” said a spokesman.

So basically the council does not keep its promises.

The team, Grange FC, with its members who are aged 11, are unlikely to have much money.

Organiser and mum Gemma Robinson says that football is the one thing that keeps the youngsters occupied.

You can’t get a much more healthy hobby for youngsters than a game of soccer and it’s exactly what our children should be doing.

Councils and the Government are always banging on about obese youngsters sitting in front of computers or the TV yet here the council is doing its best to stop the team from playing.

And it’s not as if a few bob from Grange FC is going to help the council coffers much, but God forbid anyone should break the rules.