Pub is to become first in Scotland to use only toughened glass

A pub is to become the first in Scotland to serve all its drinks in toughened glass following an attack at the venue last month.

The owners of the Rendezvous Bar in Glasgow approached the city’s licensing chiefs and asked to make it a condition of their licence that traditional glassware be banned from the venue.

The proactive move has spared the venue a raft of potential sanctions, the most severe of which could have been closure for a period of time.

It comes as it emerged the ban on supermarket and off-sales promotions on alcohol has been put back several months, with the June deadline being switched to October. The move gives Scots one last summer of cheap alcohol.

The Herald also understands that one high-profile leisure chain has been serving alcohol in at least one of its venues in tumblers billed as “American toughened glass” but when checked by police amounted to the ordinary glass vessels Strathclyde Police want all bars and nightclubs to get rid of.

The Rendezvous made its request after Strathclyde Police, equipped with new X-ray technology, said it would be revisiting pubs and nightclubs across the west of Scotland where glass attacks have occurred to check they have switched to safer drinking vessels.

The equipment, called a polariscope, was launched six months after police announced they wanted all pubs and nightclubs in the region to sign up to a policy of stocking only toughened glass.

They warned that if a glassing incident occurred in a venue they would use new powers to have the licence immediately reviewed by the local authority.

The Rendezvous, in the Scotstoun area, was the scene of an incident on December 17 when a man sustained injuries to his face after being attacked with a half-pint glass. Inquiries are still ongoing to trace the culprit.

The bar was quickly revisited by officers, who discovered it was still using traditional half-pint tumblers.

But because it was well-advanced with plans to restock all its glassware and co-operated with police, rather than officers calling for a review it was recommended to the owners that they change their licence and request that a mandatory condition is installed requiring them to provide only toughened glass.

Although every venue in Glasgow operating after midnight is required to serve drink in either plastic or toughened glass, the Rendezvous is the first in Scotland required at all times to use either.

Owner Joe Murphy said: “This is for the safety of staff and customers and the hope is others will now jump on board. We’ve gone more than the extra mile here. We’ve signed up to this voluntarily but there’s no going back.

“The half-pints were the last we had to change so the police were happy that we took the initiative and had our licence changed. It’s only about a penny more per glass and they’re more durable. And if it keeps people safe it’s obviously worth it.”

Chief Inspector Stuart Neil urged other Glasgow pubs to follow suit, saying: “Prevention is better than cure.”