DOOR staff at pubs and clubs in Huddersfield are being urged to register - or face police prosecution.

West Yorkshire Police today issued the warning and revealed that nearly a third of all pub and club door staff in the county had failed to apply to become licensed.

In December last year new legislation was introduced which requires all door staff to undergo training and obtain a professional qualification in the form of a badge issued by the Securities Industry Authority (SIA).

The SIA is an independent body responsible for issuing licences and setting standards on training throughout the country.

The training includes lessons on licensing law, refusing entry, search procedures and the use of force.

It was introduced in an attempt to professionalise the industry and reduce the number of alcohol-related disorder problems.

The Force's Target team is now planning a series of operations targeting unlicensed staff.

Chief Insp Michael Quirk, of Headquarters Community safety, said: "There is still a hard core of people who seem to think there is no need to register.

"But we would warn them that we will take action if they are found to be working without a licence.

"We want to ensure that people working on the doors of the county's pubs and nightclubs have the right training, are not the type of people who will cause problems and have the right characteristics to deal with customer safety issues in a reasonable manner.

"We have already carried out an operation in Wakefield where a number of unregistered door staff were asked to leave immediately."