Oswestry pubs and clubs handed GHB tester kits

Pubs and clubs in Oswestry have been handed GHB tester kits for their premises in a bid to combat the use of the potentially lethal illegal drug.

The town is a hotspot for the class C drug and Oswestry Pubwatch members, who met yesterday, have been given the kits to help tackle the problem.

GHB is a clear liquid that can be hard to detect in drinks because it looks like water and has no smell. The kits use a litmus paper which can identify the liquid drug.

The kits will be used by the landlords and door managers who may be suspicious someone is carrying or using the illegal substance.

If the test is positive the drug will be handed to the police and members of the Pubwatch group will consider if those caught should be banned from town pubs. The ban could last between six months and 12 years.

Frank Francis, chairman of Oswestry Pubwatch, said: "GHB tester kits have been handed out to the pubs and will be followed by a poster campaign. There is a tester kit in my pub and other pubs and night clubs in the town have them.

"The majority of central pubs will have them and they will be available to others if they request them.

"I am pleased we have these kits and it is in line with what the Pubwatch and the council want to achieve – a cleaner, safer environment."