LATE night buses will take drinkers home from a new theme bar which opens in Durham city centre next month.

The innovative scheme, backed by the police, is being introduced to coincide with the opening of the Walkabout, an Australian theme bar in the former Robins Cinema building, in North Road.

Licence approval was only granted following a crown court appeal after Regent Inns pledged to comply with a number of conditions, including helping to disperse customers leaving the 700-capacity venue in the early hours.

The company is subsidising the bus service which will travel to outlying suburbs of Durham, and other towns and villages in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday.

Buses, operated by Go North-East, will depart Milburngate at 12.15am, 1.15am and 2.15am. The area is covered by closed circuit television cameras.

Service N1 will run to Brandon, N2 to Langley Park, N3 to Sherburn, N4 to Chester-le-Street and N5 to Newton Hall.

Destinations were selected after consultation with late night visitors to Durham.

Chief Inspector Mick Naill, of Durham City Police, said: "The night buses will be a boost to the evening economy, but will also make an important safety contribution.

They will complement taxi services with a regular means of travelling home to a number of areas at times when transport options can be quite limited due to the high demand at these peak times.

"We fully support the new night buses and will be working closely with the operator over coming weeks."

Bus tickets have to be bought in advance from bars, nightclubs and other outlets and the bus is available to customers of all late night venues in Durham.

The first bus will run just after midnight on Saturday, July 12, following the opening of Walkabout on Thursday, July 10.

Regent Inns is contributing £40,000 towards the cost of the first six months of the service and has also installed an in-house taxi phone line.

Walkabout manager Nick Bond said: "We're always keen to ensure everyone who comes through the doors has a great time, but that they cause the absolute minimum of disturbance to local residents.

He added: "Cabs to the venue means customers won't be queuing for taxis."