RESIDENTS in East Oxford plagued by drunken students are backing a Government ‘pub tax’ to put police on their streets.

Councillors and residents have backed planned changes to licensing laws that would let local authorities demand a ‘late night levy’ for measures such as street cleaning and extra police patrols.

Residents say they have been subjected to nightly incidents of swearing, noise and vandalism since students returned earlier this month And they said it had been the worst start of term ever, with two knife attacks in the area.

But a pubs and clubs leader said venues were already paying extra through business rates and the move would put up prices.

East Avenue resident Penelope Newsome said “We’re not going to have a police force standing at the end of the road to discipline them because of the spending cuts.

“I would welcome the tariff, otherwise it falls on the residents, which is not fair.”

Mrs Newsome said she could no longer sleep in the front bedroom of her home due to the noise.

She said: “The other day they pulled down a For Sale notice and managed to pull half a wall and a gate down too.”

Last week, police announced they were extending patrols to 4am on Thursdays, one of the busiest student nights of the week.

Nuala Young, city council member for St Clement’s, said: “This is the worst beginning of term fortnight we have ever had.

“It’s not just a weekend culture – it’s every night.”

The Government is carrying out consultation on proposed changes to the licensing laws.

They include handing councils the power to charge venues that open after midnight a tariff.

Ms Young said an alternative could be to demand that clubs and pubs closed at midnight.

Oxford City Council, which is responsible for licensing pubs and clubs in the city, has backed the Government’s plans.

Spokesman Louisa Dean said: “We responded to the consultation and welcomed the proposal to introduce a late night levy for the benefits it would bring to the city as a whole, and the additional services it could fund in order to help further promote Oxford as a safe night time economy.”

But Joe Roberts, chairman of East Oxford Pub Watch, said venues were already paying for services through business rates.

Mr Roberts, general manager of the O2 Academy in Cowley Road, said: “If it’s a lot of money that would have to be clawed back and that could be passed on to the customer.

“Residents in East Oxford might have to pay more to go out and enjoy themselves.”

Thames Valley Police licensing officer Tony Cope said licensees should not be absolved of responsibility.

He said: “It’s the clubs’responsibility to have measures in place so their premises do not have an impact on the area.”

Oxford Brookes University has recently funded two Police Community Support Officers to patrol its Headington campus and surrounding streets. It declined to comment.

l About 109 fewer police will be on the beat by April, a police boss said yesterday.

Terri Teasdale, director of resources at Thames Valley Police, told the Thames Valley Police Authority a £3.3m saving on staff was needed by the end of the financial year.

John Grant, chairman of the Thames Valley Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “Any reduction in police officers will be a reduction in resources available for the front line.

“Police officers can’t be made redundant, they either retire or leave. What they are going to do is stop recruiting so there will be no new recruits coming in being the lifeblood of front line delivery.”