When 24-hour drinking was introduced it marked the end of the 11pm last orders and revolutionised the drinking sector. 

Critics said it would increase binge drinking and cause chaos. 

Police chiefs worried that their forces would be stretched. 

Supporters claimed it would help create a continental cafe culture and possibly reduce alcohol-related crime. 

There would no longer be a rush to drink before 11pm and it would spell an end to crowds fighting after closing time. 

But today, only two bars and two supermarkets in Carlisle have 24-hour licences and neither of them have ever used them. 

When the new law was introduced, Seth Nicholson ran two bars in Carlisle. Ku Ba on Crosby Street and The Circle Bar in The Arcade, which he still owns and runs today. 

He said of 24-hour drinking: “The culture has changed a lot. Youngsters today go out later. They stay at home until much later – say 11pm – and then they go out. 

“People in their 30s and 40s still do the same thing and go out at the same time. 

“I think 24-hour drinking killed off a lot of the old style clubs as we know it. A lot of the big venues have gone. When we went out everywhere used to be busy but that’s not the case now. I don’t know if the law is good or bad. 

“I tend to go out earlier, say about 6pm, for something to eat and then I am usually back home and tucked up in bed by about midnight. 

“My bar is open until 1am but some places are open until about 4am."

On the night the new law came into force on November 24, 2005, the impact of flexible opening hours was not immediately obvious. 

“It’s quite dead tonight,” reported a journalist in Carlisle. 

Extra officers patrolled Carlisle city centre to quell fears about drink-fuelled disorder during the first weekend of later opening hours. 

But worries about drunks staggering across streets and causing trouble proved unfounded on the first day of the new Licensing Act. 

Superintendent Mark Pannone from Cumbria Police said on the introduction of the new act that it was an “average night” with just three arrests for drink-related crimes. 

In 2005, about 160 premises out of 420 in and around Carlisle were initially granted extended licences, including pubs in residential areas as well as the city centre, although not all of them used their new hours. 

Only the Lowther Street nightclub Concrete, Dalston Hall Hotel, and Tesco at Rosehill were granted 24-hour licenses in 2005. 

Elsewhere, Club XS, the Crown Inn on Botchergate and Ku Ba (which is now closed), were granted alcohol licences until 4am at weekends. 

Most pubs, bars and clubs in the Botchergate area close their doors between 2am and 4.30am as their licences dictate, and before the barriers are removed on a Saturday and Sunday morning at 5am. 

A spokeswoman for Carlisle City Council said: “Over the past 10 years, our licensing officers and the police have worked together with licensees to educate and promote a safer drinking culture. 

“We work closely to ensure responsible management of their premises and to recognise good practice. 

“Over these years we have promoted Pubwatch and Best Bar None – a national award scheme supported by the Home Office – in order to improve standards and help reduce alcohol related crime and disorder, as well as building positive relationships between the trade and all responsible authorities.” 

She added that the licensing officers work alongside the police to ensure premises are adhering to their licensing conditions and take action where necessary. 

The biggest consequence of relaxing licensing laws, she said, has been that the public are now better able to enjoy a drink at the time and location of their choice. 

“Crime and disorder figures have consistently fallen over the past 10 years here in Carlisle and there is no longer a rush to drink before 11pm, or trouble at crowded taxi ranks,” she added. 

Cumbria’s crime commissioner says it’s impossible to tell if the new law has led to an increase or decrease in crime, but what he does know is that excessive drinking habits are placing an extra strain on the public purse. 

Richard Rhodes also said late licensing meant the force was having to pay overtime for longer. 

He said: “It’s difficult to say whether crime has increased or decreased since the legislation was introduced but what I do know is that the number of hours police are on duty has increased quite significantly. 

“Where we used to see a throwing out time of 2am that is now 4am and beyond and we have to have officers on duty which is an extra cost to the public purse. 

“The increase in cost to the public must be replicated in A&E as well.” 

Former police sergeant Richard Higgin was in charge of pub and club licensing for the force and was at the forefront of the city’s Pubwatch scheme, winning a national award in the process. He retired last year after 30 years’ service. 

He said: “When everyone used to go home at 2am it was easier to manage in policing terms. When 24-hour drinking was introduced it dragged it out as people left at different times. 

“Some people would go out early and be home by midnight, others would go out about 9pm until 2am or 3am and then there was a group that wouldn’t go out until midnight. 

“From a policing perspective the new law made licensing easier to deal with as we didn’t have to go through the courts but the downside was the later time out on duty and people being able to drink unabated until whatever time they wanted.”