Police are increasing patrols for ‘Black Friday’, one of the busiest pub nights of the year to help prevent drunken behaviour.

And for the first time rowdy Christmas revellers in Exeter who cause trouble could find themselves caught on camera.

Door staff for the city’s Night Owl Security Services will be wearing miniature CCTV cameras in Exeter and East Devon to deter violence and film footage of any disorder that occurs.

Police back the initiative and will have 20 officers out on foot and in force vans in the city centre on Friday, starting from 2pm, to stop and deal with troublemakers.

Dubbed Black Friday, and for many the last working day before Christmas, the day has become notorious for violent crimes.

Sergeant Neil Harvey, who will be out patrolling on Friday, said the night is traditionally one of the busiest for police.

He said: ‘There are more incidents because of alcohol on this night, which is why we are working with door staff to stop that from escalating.’

‘We will have a very visible presence in the city centre with extra patrols starting this Friday and continuing until the New Year.’

Mr Harvey added: ‘If anything goes wrong, it is all recorded and can help us to sort out the problem and prosecute people who misbehave.’

Nick Warren, Night Owl operations manager said: ‘Our staff will be wearing the cameras around Christmas. They weigh around 4kg each and can record images and speech.’

‘It’s some of the most sophisticated equipment on the market. So people can see what really happened.’