NEIGHBOURS are up in arms about the prospect of all-night drinking in a family pub which they say will encourage antisocial behaviour and stop them from sleeping.

Clive Symes of White Lion Road, Amersham, is leading a petition to block The Pineapple pub's application for a 2am drinking licence during the week.

Mr Symes told the Free Press: "It fills me with dread that our town will become a magnet for every dung brain for miles around.

"Once the word gets out that we have late-night opening it will totally ruin the town's atmosphere. We will have binge drinking and all its associated antisocial behaviour problems bottles smashed in our gardens, people being sick, and noise until late into the night."

But pub manager Michael Adamson argued the late licence was necessary to serve wedding parties and shift workers and strongly denied residents' suggestions that it would encourage binge drinking.

In the six months The Pineapple has been trading, it has been nominated for four council pub of the year awards including family pub of the year and community pub of the year.

Both The Amersham Society and Old Town Residents Association are strongly against late licensing and have been negotiating with Chiltern District Council's licensing committee to safeguard residents' right to sleep.

Martin Brooks, chairman of The Amersham Society, said: "Amersham is a dense residential area, especially the old town which has a lot of pubs.

"We think late licensing in any area with a high number of residents is a pretty disastrous idea, especially if it is during the week."

Council licensing authorities across the country are predicting an onslaught of late licence applications in the next few months. The issue will be brought to the fore when new legislation comes into force on November 7, requiring all public places serving alcohol to re-apply for their licenses.

The Eagle, in Amersham Old Town's High Street, and The Red Lion, in Chestnut Lane, Amersham, are applying for a 1am drinking licence as part of Punch Tavern's nationwide corporate application.

The Eagle only intends to use the late licence for bank holiday weekends and is working closely with the council and the police to tackle yob drinking culture.

The Red Lion plans to use the late licence every weekend. But residents say they will fight the applications all the way.