MOUNTED police officers were among 50 officers involved in a clampdown on drunken violence in a Teesside town.

The clampdown on Saturday night and early Sunday morning was designed to reverse statistics that showed a huge increase in violent incidents in Hartlepool last year.

Latest figures reveal there was an 89 per cent increase in the recorded number of violent incidents, one of the biggest rises in violence in Britain.

Police officers, many trained to deal with disorder, were drafted in from police divisions across the Tees Valley for the Saturday night blitz.

Ten hotspots for drunken violence were targeted in the town.

One pub licensee may be prosecuted for selling alcohol after hours and another for selling alcohol to under-age youngsters.

Fifty bottles of alcohol were taken from youngsters drinking in the street and in parks and two people were arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

Police made 47 official warnings for drinking alcohol in non-designated areas.

For the first time, £40 fixed penalty notices were issued in the town as part of laws designed to clamp down on late night drunken town centre behaviour.

Acting Superintendent Clive Pengilley was in charge of the operation, which was part of a Cleveland Police-wide Operation Sabre clampdown.

He said: "This was a really successful evening's work. We will be taking a proactive approach, particularly through the summer, to nuisance behaviour.

"Feedback from the public was excellent through the night.

"One doorman said it had been one of the busiest nights of the year but with the least violence.

"We want people to have a good time but we will not tolerate violent behaviour. We will be back."