A nightclub owner in Essex is paying £41 an hour for extra policing, provoking further anger over proposals to force pubs to pay for police.
Roy Gray, the licensee of the Route nightclub in Colchester, has asked all the members of the town's Pubwatch scheme to chip in.
He said: "I would like to see all the licensees contributing a small amount for the police to stay in the town, so we know there is an officer only 30 seconds or a minute away if we need one."
Government plans to introduce a similar scheme nationwide have been met with concern that paying for police could become a licensing condition. Concerns over police impartiality being compromised have also been raised.
Roy Gray, the licensee of the Route nightclub in Colchester, has asked all the members of the town's Pubwatch scheme to chip in.
He said: "I would like to see all the licensees contributing a small amount for the police to stay in the town, so we know there is an officer only 30 seconds or a minute away if we need one."
Government plans to introduce a similar scheme nationwide have been met with concern that paying for police could become a licensing condition. Concerns over police impartiality being compromised have also been raised.
