A grant of £35,000 from Holyrood's Safer Streets
budget tops up £20,000 from the Safer and Stronger Renfrewshire partnership.

The festive project launches a series of initiatives from this week, including extra police and warden patrols plus more taxi marshals in town centres.

Cocaine torches and swabs will be used in pubs and clubs, as well as metal detectors. The radio link system between pubs and restaurants will also be extended.

Youth diversionary activities will be in full force and focused on popular Hit the Beat Christmas events.

Superintendent Donald McCallum, sub-divisional officer for Renfrewshire, revealed: "I am positive that this year's funding will make a big difference to both local communities and the town centres and build on strong partnership arrangements that currently exist.

"We have had an encouraging year in terms of performance and I am determined to continue this throughout the festive period and provide the public with targeted and effective policing services".

He added: "The safer streets programme has been running for a number of years now and support provided by Renfrewshire council has allowed for considerable additional policing and crime prevention interventions".

News of the project has been welcomed by a teenage student who lives in a shared flat in Paisley town centre and frequents nearby pubs.

Ryan Gillespie (19) told The Extra: "I'm really glad there will be extra precautionary measures at this time of year.
"I feel safer knowing I can walk home at night or get a taxi to a friend's house without having to worry".

Pub-goer Andy Murphy (41) lives in Orchard Street in the centre of Paisley and said he hadn't had "much trouble with drunk revellers going home late at night".

But he added: "I have a fair bit of bother with noise outside, which I hope will be lessened.

"My daughter is 18 and it's a weight off my mind to know there are random drug tests and extra police around to keep her safe".