DUBLIN and Amsterdam have barred them. Prague may soon follow suit.

Now London's notorious stag-night revellers are set to make Blackpool -- the biggest, brashest and wildest destination of them all -- their number one choice for a last blast of freedom. But is this good news for the resort? Dean Kirby finds out.

BLACKPOOL has 200 pubs, 42 nightclubs, three lap-dancing bars, two casinos and a population of 152,000.

The Pleasure Beach has 6.5 million visitors a year and the town's population more than doubles at weekends when thousands of party-goers hit the Golden Mile.

Many of these party-goers are on stag nights from places such as Bolton, Manchester and Liverpool.

But hundreds of thousands more people will soon be heading to the resort for a final fling -- from far-away London.

Many southerners already travel up to the resort on the train, but now Irish airline Ryanair is starting a new twice-daily flight to Blackpool from Stanstead airport, with a one-way fare of £29.99.

From May, Londoners will be able to make the 248-mile journey to the legendary Lancashire holiday spot in just 40 minutes

It could make a huge difference to the town, which was once regarded by many Londoners as too tacky, too rain-soaked and absurdly difficult to reach.

The famous weather even caused five Chelsea footballers to collapse from hypothermia during a 1931 game -- but the Cockneys will soon be back.

Although attracting thousands of people to Blackpool is good news, will families be put off visiting the resort if it is swarming with large drunken groups of men?

Jane Seddon, head of Blackpool's tourism department, welcomed Ryanair's move. But she said the department would not be actively promoting Blackpool as a location for stag and hen parties.

"Blackpool is fun, unpretentious and it was built for having a good time," she says.

"We don't promote the stag market. We recognise people will be coming to town for stag and hen parties, but it won't be something that we will be promoting.

"A lot of people from the south have second homes in the North-west and we will be promoting ourselves as a gateway to places such as the Lake District."

She adds: "Hopefully, many of them will sample the delights of Blackpool on the way. We will also be promoting holidays and fun weekends for families."

Rob Hatch from Blackpool Stag and Hen Weekends, which places 500 revellers in seafront hotels each weekend, said the flights were "marvellous news".

For one internet tour operator, Blackpool ranks just 19th among the 39 destinations being offered as stag night locations, languishing between Southampton and the Brecon Beacons.

He says: "Blackpool offers stag and hen party groups everything from lap-dancing to shows, from sand to the Pleasure Beach. The town is well policed and there's a safe social environment too."

But not everyone thinks the new flights are a good idea.

Hotelier Denise Layne is in her first season in Blackpool at the Fern Villa hotel, on Albert Road. She says: "I don't think people will like the idea of more stag nights. I take all kinds of people and I do cater for stag parties - but there are rules and regulations.

"If they don't behave, they go back out the door and lose the bond they have to pay."

Becky Burrell, of the Lancastria Hotel, agrees. She says: "Most of the hotel owners really won't like the idea. I don't take large groups of men but already get a lot of people ringing up asking. Eight people in a group is my maximum because it can get a bit noisy and groups of men tend to be too boisterous."

Blackpool was the surprise choice among seven new destinations announced last week by Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary.

The others were Bergerac and Rodez in south-west France, Palermo in Sicily, the Belgian city of Bruges, Groningen in Holland and Leipzig in eastern Germany.

The £180 standard rail journey from London to Blackpool takes four hours on the West Coast Main Line, with an obligatory change at Preston.

By car the 248-mile journey can take just as long, even if the M6 is clear of traffic jams. Which is hardly ever.

But the town will be in easy reach very soon.

And with its thriving lap-dancing industry, its near limitless accommodation and future role as the "Las Vegas of Britain", it will soon be seen as the perfect stag weekend territory for Londoners.