Just another night in binge-drink Britain: Police cells fill with 'black eye Friday' fighters and women get so drunk they can only crawl
- Violence causes chaos across country on traditionally rowdy night
- Every cell in Cumbria full after anti-social behaviour offences
- Violence in Newcastle city centre as festive binge drinkers run riot
It is meant to be the season to be jolly - but Britain's towns and cities descended into chaos last night as binge-drinkers ditched festive spirit for mindless violence.
On the day colloquially known as 'black eye Friday', police officers packed town centres on one of their busiest nights of the year.
The last Friday before Christmas is traditionally a rowdy night due to the huge number of office parties taking place, the end of the academic term and workers being given Christmas bonuses.
Battered and bruised: With blood pouring down his face, this reveller talks to police officers in Newcastle City Centre
Showing all: A drunken young woman crawls along the street in Newcastle wearing no shoes
Violent: A brawl breaks out on Black eye Friday in Newcastle, one of several fights reported in the city centre
One too many: A man struggles to hold in vomit while another reveller urinated against a shop window
But rather than embracing festive merriment, many revellers simply resorted to base behaviour - brawling, vomiting and urinating in public.
One police force was kept so busy by drunken louts that all of its cells were occupied overnight.
A spokesman from Cumbria Police said it had made between 50 - 60 arrests related to anti-social behaviour offences and said that every cell in the county was full.
Photographs from around the country captured the mindlessness - with one young, scantily-clad woman pictured crawling along the soaking ground.
One man was captured being dragged into a police van with his trousers around his ankles, while others can be seen slumped against a wall urinating or hunching over vomiting.
Groups of men are pictured punching each other in the face.
Battered: Police restrain a man in Newcastle, whose beaten face can be seen dripping with blood
Injured: An officer helps a man into the recovery position after he was punched and hit his head on the floor
Strong arm of the law: Another man is handcuffed and shoved in the back of a van
Busted? A woman appears to have been arrested outside an Indian restaurant near Newcastle's notorious Bigg Market
There were particularly unsavoury scenes in Newcastle, with one man encapsulating the spirit of the night - sporting a bloodied eye that will no doubt by black in the morning.
Pub-owners in the city were happy though, reporting a surge in trade, with most bars packed from lunchtime as bosses sanctioned workers to leave for pubs.
The mood of the evening was summed up by revellers on Twitter.
Richard Ayre wrote: 'If you're out in Newcastle for black eye Friday - take care. Merry Christmas,' while Hollie O'Connell said: 'It's black eye Friday. And in Newcastle that means all day drinking.'
Despite the chaotic scenes in the city centre, Northumbria Police, which deployed hundreds of extra officers, said it had been a relatively peaceful night.
Pants down: A man is put into a police van in Swansea wearing only a pair of boxer shorts on his bottom half
Left hook: A man gets a punch in as yet another night out ends in violence in Newcastle
Brawl: Three men continue to trade blows on the appropriately-named Black eye Friday
Inspector Helena Barron, said: 'We have matched our resources to meet demand in the city centre.
'There has been no issues and everyone seems to be well spirited.
'We will be monitoring the situation as we do every night.'
Punters in Botchergate, Cumbria, said that 'Black Eye Friday' had calmed down compared to previous years.
Ian Armstrong, from Harraby said there was a 'party atmosphere' early in the evening but that this often descended as the night went on.
But he added: 'It’s not like it used to be – it had a right reputation years ago.'
One woman, who would not give her name, added: 'Botchergate can be like a war zone. It’s mad in Botchergate on Black Eye Friday at night.'
Tumble and fall: A young woman collapses in a heap in Swansea while her friend struggles to pick her up
Down and out: Officers restrain a man in Swansea
From:
Alcohol and drugs as it is an equally effective way to put the most sensitive part of society on the sidelines and make it inactive and will-less.