YORK leaders who fear that a tide of booze-fuelled crime is engulfing the city have won the backing of four North Yorkshire MPs.

City bosses called on national politicians to help them lobby for extra powers to control binge drinking, discounted alcohol and under-age drinkers.

They want local authorities to be given sharper tools to help them tackle rising drink-related crime and yobbish behaviour.

York MP Hugh Bayley has pledged to ask the Home Office to toughen up the law on under-age sales and to make it easier for magistrates to exclude problem drinkers from pubs.

He was joined by the MPs for Selby, Ryedale and the Vale of York - John Grogan, John Greenway and Anne McIntosh respectively - who all registered their concern at alcohol-related crime.

Senior police officers have told Mr Bayley they wanted to see the stores prosecuted as well as the individual when staff members were caught selling alcohol to under-18s.

Magistrates also complained they could only give exclusion orders to people who had offended in licensed premises, but not for similar public drink offences such as being drunk and disorderly.

Meanwhile, Mr Grogan, who sat on the House of Commons committee that examined the recent Licensing Bill, has offered to meet councillors to discuss any other specific proposals.

Miss McIntosh (Conservative) said her party had already launched new plans to tackle late-night violence and yob behaviour by giving councils more control over late licences.

Chief Inspector Andy Hirst, of York Police, has already called for special measures to tackle such "hot-spots" after figures revealed that two-thirds of all violence took place in one small area.

The disturbing statistics, revealed by the Evening Press last year, showed that a disproportionate amount of violent crime takes place in and around Micklegate and George Hudson Street.

Charlotte Pell, of City of York Council, said in a report that councillors were concerned about the amount of pressure on the police to deal with the problem, which tied up their limited resources.

She said there was a lack of evidence that 24-hour drinking, which could become possible under the new licensing regime due to come into force later this year, reduces binge drinking and social problems.

She said: "The council has called upon MPs to support the granting of additional powers to local authorities to limit binge drinking where local residents and/or traders support such restrictions."

The 2003 Licensing Act will allow the council to suspend, revoke or amend the operating condition attached to premises. Police have recently been given extra powers to temporarily close problem pubs.

Updated: 10:06 Monday, January 10, 2005