THE first night in Bolton following the introduction of the new licensing laws passed without any trouble, police say.

Many of the town centre pubs stayed open later than usual but none were open the full 24 hours.

There were slightly more people out than normal for a Thursday night but Friday and Saturday are expected to be the busiest.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "It was busy in the town centre but there were no specific problems at any of the bars.

"It was a fairly peaceful night with no incidents reported."

The new licensing laws came into affect at midnight on Wednesday, allowing pubs and clubs to stay open 24 hours if they want.

A major police operation was launched last night on the streets of the town centre to coincide with the introduction of the controversial legislation.

Extra police officers will be on duty in the town centre every night until Sunday evening to crackdown on violence and alcohol-related crime.

A CCTV van will be filming potential troublemakers and a prison van will be based at the police station to be used as a overspill if the cells get full.