Carnage UK defends mass pub crawl

The organisers of Carnage UK said the pub crawl was not about getting drunk

The organisers of a pub-crawl through Oxford expected to involve some 1,000 students have denied the event encourages binge-drinking.

Carnage UK has arranged a themed night on Thursday which takes customers to five bars before ending up at The Regal nightclub on the Cowley Road.

Police have warned students they will not tolerate anti-social or drunken behaviour.

A spokesman said the company operated a responsible drinks policy.

The firm attracted attention after student Philip Laing, 19, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, was photographed urinating on a war memorial during a pub-crawl in Sheffield last month.

We operate a responsible drinks tariff that includes no discounts or promotions on alcoholic drinks Stephen Hughes, Carnage UK

Varsity Leisure Group Ltd, which owns and operates Carnage UK, denounced Laing's behaviour at the time, describing it as "an isolated incident".

Company spokesman Stephen Hughes said previous events held in Oxford had passed off peacefully.

He added that the aim of the event was not to get drunk saying: "The majority of people come out to enjoy themselves and socialise."

Mr Hughes added: "We operate a responsible drinks tariff that includes no discounts or promotions on alcoholic drinks, a full stewarding team to supervise the students between the five venues and we liaise with taxi companies to ensure there's adequate transport provision."

Insp Matt Bullivant, from Thames Valley Police, said on Tuesday: "The Carnage UK tour has previously visited the city on other occasions and the nights have passed off without any significant incidents occurring."

Oxford Brookes Student Union has said it is concerned about Carnage UK's visit to the city and has backed a National Union of Students (NUS) campaign to ban such events.