In the Cleveland area, the police will spend £10,000 each in Middlesbrough and Stockton town centres to combat drunken behaviour over the festive period.

Durham Constabulary will plough £10,000 into initiatives in the north of the county - including Peterlee, Seaham, Chester-le-Street, Durham City, Consett and Stanley - and £3,000 in the south.

Sergeant Tim Robson, of the substance misuse unit, based in Chester-le-Street, said pub bosses and off-licence workers would be targeted.

"There is no point in continually arresting people as they leave a pub drunk when the problem might actually be inside the premises, he said.

North Yorkshire Police will target town centres and issue fixed penalty notices for alcohol-related disorder, as well as making test purchases to make sure pubs and shops are not selling to under-18s.

In Northumbria, where Chief Constable Mike Craik launched a campaign called The Party's Over, during the summer, revellers and licensees are being warned to behave "or face the consequences".