Consultation on broadening Pontefract town centre's drinking crackdown to include the Valley Gardens is set to start after nearby householders urged council chiefs to extend it and call time on troublemakers running riot in the park.

Lynne Austin, of Mill Hill Road, called on Wakefield Council chiefs to broaden the alcohol exclusion zone in the Express to stop crowds of drinkers causing anti-social behaviour and vandalism.

She said: "We've made about three emergency calls in the past few months, once when a drunken gang of boys threw bricks and bats at each other and crashed into our property.

"In a way it's sad that a booze ban is necessary because it will stop people taking a bottle of wine there with a picnic in the  summer.

"But on the other hand if it is going to help the police stop troublemakers there then it should be welcomed."

A drinking ban in Pontefract town centre – launched by the council and West Yorkshire Police to reduce boozy behaviour or crime last November – slashed crime by 21 per cent in the months after it was unveiled, according to police figures.

An alcohol exclusion zone restricts drinking outside premises without a special licence and those refuse to surrender their booze can be fined or arrested.

Coun Olivia Rowley, the council's cabinet member for community safety and cohesion, said: "We've listened to the concerns of people and we are looking at addressing the problems in Valley Gardens.

"We do not put alcohol exclusion zones in place everywhere as sometimes it is not needed, and they need to be policed properly."

Bob Taylor, service manager for enforcement, said: "We are aware of residents' concerns about the impact of drinkers from the Pontefract town centre into Valley Gardens since the introduction of the alcohol exclusion zone. In response to this we are seeking approval to start a consultation process with local licensees, businesses, residents and park users about setting up an alcohol exclusion zone in the Valley Gardens area.

"If this was granted it would be a classed as a new zone and join onto the Southgate boundary of the existing ban."