GLASGOW'S glass ban in nightclubs is working and should be introduced across the country, a report says today.

The study led by Dr Alasdair Forsyth, an expert on violence and the licensed trade, claims that only a comprehensive ban without exemptions can keep clubbers safe.

And, more controversially, the academic say ultimately pubs and even restaurants should be covered by the ban.

TIMESFILE: Dates that mattered in ban move September 2003 Gordon Macdiarmid, chairman of the licensing board, sets out his vision for a glass-free Glasgow. Six city centre nightclubs sign up to a voluntary policy to use toughened glass or plastic after concerns about glassing injuries'. October 2005 Mr Macdiarmid announces the controversial compulsory policy to be rolled out over the following year. Reader Poll Should the glass ban be extended to all city restaurants? Yes 31.4% No 67.3% Don't know 1.3% January 2006 All city centre nightclubs and music venues are banned from using conventional glass. June 2006 Under pressure from the Evening Times and a legal challenge by pubs, Mr Macdiarmid agrees not to roll out the ban to all pubs in the city by January 2007, as he had planned. But venues with high levels of violence can still be hit by the ban, as can pubs with late licences. July 2006 As planned, the rules are brought in for nightclubs and music venues outside the city centre. But the ban stops there. December 2006 Mr Macdiarmid faces a fresh backlash because the ban still means pubs with late licences for Hogmanay must swap to plastic on the stroke of midnight. May 2007 Mr Macdiarmid, still highly respected by the trade despite the controversy over the glass ban in the city, loses his seat in the council elections and is replaced as board chairman by Jim McNally.

Dr Forsyth, who works with the Scottish Centre for Crime and Criminal Justice Research at Caledonian University, has just published his study carried out during the first six months of Glasgow's ban which was launched in 2006.

Researchers visited eight city centre nightclubs four times each and witnessed 34 violent incidents at first hand. They also interviewed clubbers about their opinions.

In his report he states: "What is not in doubt from this observational study of nightclubs is that when violence does occur within licensed premises, and it does regularly, the severity of injuries caused by drinking vessels can be greatly reduced by a 100% glass-free environment."

To protect venue operators venues were given codenames.

In one club, codenamed Armageddon, observers witnessed 11 incidents in just four visits, each visit lasting three hours - nearly one fight every hour they were there.

They found that while clubs with younger customers were more likely to be violent, those with older clientele were most resistant to getting rid of glass completely.

As a result the older' clubs - where they were using safety or toughened glass - witnessed the worst injuries even though violence was less frequent.

The observers sent to one club, "Sinatra's" saw two fights break out in the space of a few minutes.

In the first, a man was left "bleeding badly from his neck/shoulder area," after an incident they believe involved a "safety" or toughened glass.

Another fight minutes later ended with one man throwing a normal glass which smashed against a wall, showering nearby clubbers with fragments.

But reviewers at another club, Xanadu, felt safer even after witnessing a prolonged fight involving several men - because people were drinking from plastic.

The observers saw punches being traded before the attacker picked up a bottle and lashed out at three opponents, only to find the bottle was plastic.

Today Dr Forsyth said: "A lot of violence is spur-of-the-moment.

"If that guy had thought the bottle was plastic he probably wouldn't have picked it up. But if it had been glass, we could have been looking at one person in the dental hospital, another in the Royal Infirmary with facial injuries and a young man in jail.

"As it was, there was no harm done."

The academic added: "I think Glasgow is a model for change.

"The ban has clearly made the city safer and people are realising that. We need to roll out similar measures across the country and, personally, I would look to end the link between glass and alcohol completely."

But not everyone backs extending the ban.

Ken Storrie, who owns the Pot Still whisky pub in Hope Street, said: "Some people won't be happy until pubs have padded walls and bean bags for chairs.

"There are bad people out there and whether or not pubs have glass is not going to change that."

He said managers had responded to fears over violence. He added: "The most important thing is that the pub is well run.

"The threat of the ban did make people look at things like whether they needed more staff and more regular glass collections which also help make sure staff know what is going on at any time."

One of his regulars, 57-year-old electrician Brian Alison, was equally opposed.

He said: "They tried something similar with plastic pint glasses in England and you definitely got a taste off the plastic.

"The teenagers who are more likely to fight don't drink pints anyway.

"Banning glasses in the pub would be a daft carry-on."

The study's findings have been published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.

Dr Forsyth admitted: "Normally I'm not the sort of person who would say We should ban this or that'.

"But when the findings from the study started coming in, I was convinced. Quite simply, alcohol and glass don't mix."

He said the problem was not exclusive to nightclubs, although venues where people danced were more vulnerable to accidents and insisted that pubs and even restaurants could also be covered by a future ban.

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said the Force welcomed any measure introduced which leads to a reduction in violence and provides a safer environment for staff and patrons.