THE head of Bolton police fears efforts to slash booze-fuelled crime in the town could be undone by 24-hour drinking laws.

Chief Supt Dave Lea said police and licensees would be "entering the unknown" when new licensing laws come into force in November.

A string of late-night initiatives and high profile policing saw violent crime fall by eight per cent in Bolton last year, bucking national trends.

But Chief Supt Lea said his officers would have to concentrate resources more carefully to stop the trend being reversed in the weeks after this autumn's watershed as revellers take advantage of longer drinking hours.

He said: "Bolton has earned itself a reputation as a safe place to come and play but there's a danger that could be undone."

"I don't know how people will change their drinking habits, but I do know that if people drink to excess, it can result in real harm to themselves and others around them.

"It's the biggest change to licensing for generations and we will be entering the unknown for a period of time which we will have to monitor extremely carefully."

Chief Supt Lea made his comments in the wake of a leaked Metropolitan Police report which warns that new licensing laws will have a massive drain on resources and send violent crime soaring. The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force on November 24 and allows for bars, pubs and clubs to open round the clock.

Bolton town centre premises have applied to serve alcohol until as late as 5am, and several supermarkets could sell drinks round the clock if their 24-hour applications are granted.

But Chief Supt Lea said it was too early to predict whether the new laws would lead to increased drinking in the long run.

"People haven't got any more money to drink more," he said.

"There's a finite capacity in the night-time economy and we won't know whether that has yet been reached until the weeks and months after November 24."