Glasgow saw 59 violent incidents involving glass within a year

The Scottish Beer and Pub Association (SBPA) has lodged papers at the Court of Session opposing the enforced use of toughened or plastic glasses.

The licensing board agreed on the ban, which will be rolled out in January, to reduce injuries from violence.

Glass was banned in pubs and clubs with late night entertainment licences earlier this year.

The SBPA said the ban was a "disproportionate response".

Chief executive Patrick Browne said a judicial review was being sought as it believed Glasgow's Licensing Board was acting outside its powers.

"We argued against the board's blanket ban on the use of glass which we believed could not be justified in terms of cost or risk and was a totally disproportionate response to the issue," he said.

We feel entirely on safe grounds legally as this policy Gordon Macdiarmid Glasgow Licensing Board

"The industry is in full support of policies designed to target and tackle the violent thugs who use glass as a weapon.

"But we believe that the use of plastic bottles or toughened glass is best determined on a premises by premises basis where problems exist, and not across the board."

Police in Glasgow city centre and the west end recorded 59 violent incidents involving glass in the 12 months up to November 2005.

Entertainment licences

Gordon Macdiarmid, convener of the city's Licensing Board, said: "We feel entirely on safe grounds legally as this policy, like the continuous pricing policy, is based around undertakings given in relation to regular extensions.

"We are fully aware that the board cannot condition a core public house licence.

"Given the clearly demonstrable success of the policy in relation to entertainment licences, it is astonishing that anyone in the 21st century should seek to place the protection of glass receptacles ahead of the safety of their patrons."

The ban came into force in clubs and pubs with late night entertainment licences in February.