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Top tips for tipplers to stay safe this Christmas

People enjoying a drink It’s been another odd year. COVID is still with us, we have to wear masks again and going out seems a bit more complicated than it used to be.

Here’s a guide to having a great time enjoying Plymouth’s night life safely.

Getting ready

Plan ahead. Take regular lateral flow tests ahead of meeting up with others or in high risk places such as busy indoor spaces

If you can, book a taxi in advance. We know there is a shortage of drivers, but the operators are encouraging them to be out at night for the next few weeks to help people get home. licence plate If there are any issues – such as haggling over the fare or not taking you all the way home – take down their number or photograph their licence plate (at rear of the vehicle) and report it to us. 

If you are going out as a group how about having a designated driver? Be a Lift Legend

Getting there

Going by bus, train and taxi, wear a mask – it’s the law. Popping into a shop? Wear a mask.

Drinking

Have a drink, have a few, but pace yourself. Resist the urge to pre-load or smuggle bottles of booze into bars or clubs. Get too drunk and you could be turned away by bar staff before the night’s even started.

If you’re worried that your drink has been spiked, speak to the bar staff. Most now have testing kits and can test your drink there and then.

If you see someone doing something suspicious in a bar, report this to door and bar staff immediately. Bar and security staff have been vulnerability trained to help. You can also Ask for Angela if you are feeling threatened, particularly if on a date.

We’d encourage you to wear a mask if you’re in a pub or bar but it is not compulsory. If you can, keep windows open.

Clubbing

From Wednesday 15 December you must prove that you are fully vaccinated to get into nightclubs. Either use the NHS COVID pass via the app or proof of a negative test result, such as an email or text to get in.

Being out and about

  • There will be extra police patrols in the run-up to Christmas and of course New Year’s Eve
  • The Street Pastors will be out and about near all the popular drinking areas
  • Student patrols – volunteers from the university – are out and about in the city centre on Wednesday and Friday nights. They’re another set of eyes and ears and are linked to the Nitenet, the city’s night time economy radio network.
  • CCTV – we have you covered. There are over 350 CCTV cameras

Overdone it or hurt yourself? 

Plymouth’s Safe Bus is popping up outside the Theatre Royal from 10pm until 4am on Saturday nights as well as Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve (which both fall on Friday).

It’s for anyone who has injured themselves, are feeling unwell or have drunk way too much. It’s staffed by paramedics from the Alliance Pioneer Group, which means no impact on ambulance service and hospital staffing. There’s also security staff.

Getting home

Taxi marshals will be at the taxi rank on the Barbican and at Derry’s Cross to help get you home smoothly.