Design blamed for pub brawls

The design of pubs has again been blamed as a contributor to violence among customers. The criticism came at an occupational psychology conference at Warwick University.

Dr Phil Leather and Rosie Dickson, of the University of Nottingham’s psychology department, said at the British Psychological Society’s conference last week that better design of pubs and more efficient management are needed to curb the increasing violence.

Leather has been commissioned by Allied Domecq to establish the causes of violence and possible solutions, and techniques for coping with the consequences.