A GLASGOW pub has been stripped of its licence after police said it had a major problem with cocaine use.
The Scotch in Summerston was shut down after one officer said the bar's problem with drugs represented the biggest problem in its neighbourhood.
Glasgow Licensing Board revoked the pub's licence with immediate effect, and refused to set aside its decision pending an appeal. Board members were reacting to a formal police request following scores of visits to the pub over the last 18 months.
A police report to the board said: "It is the Chief Constable's position that the premises is operating in a manner likely to cause serious harm to the public by allowing the continued use of controlled drugs within the premises.
"The management of the premises have been spoken to over a considerable period of time and made fully aware of ongoing issues in respect of drug misuse within their premises. The premises have taken little by way of steps to resolve the issue."
It added: "There have been a considerable number of incidents relating to disorder linked to the premises where the staff members have been unwilling to fully assist police inquiries."
The Scotch – which is in Gorstan Street, Summerston, next to an Asda superstore – is owned by pub chain Trust Inns Limited, leased by Gerald Reilly and managed by Margaret Burbridge.
The report detailed visits over a year and attempts to convince managers to act. On one occasion last August officers found two men in the toilets, one of whom dropped four bags of white powder. He was identified as a son of Mr Reilly.
Other visits also found evidence of drug-taking – although most recently officers noted the pub managers had smeared surfaces in the toilets with baby oil, an effective way of stopping cocaine users snorting from them.
Other police complaints referred to failure to co-operate, including with the hunt for a person believed to have entered the pub after shoplifting from the local superstore.
The Scotch countered at last week's board meeting by saying it had made every effort to counter drug-taking. It bars any customer found with drugs – four so far, said its agent Joanna Brynes.
The solicitor said pub managers checked bathrooms every 14 minutes, had removed toilet seats, put wooden slats over cisterns and covered all surfaces with baby oil.
Ms Brynes added: "Short of standing in the toilet cubicles there is not much more the licence-holder can do. They have genuinely tried every suggestion put to them and gone down additional avenues. They are reporting incidents and co-operating with the police.
She added: "This is not a drug den. If you went into [other] premises in Maryhill or the city centre you would find that people have been taking drugs."
Inspector Duncan Evans said The Scotch's problem with drugs "represents the biggest problem to the area and to the community".
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