Special hospital rooms will be set aside for drunken revellers to sleep it off over the New Year.

Party-goers could find themselves in these "booze bins" if they need medical help during the Millennium celebrations.

The system is part of Y2K plans organised by Oxfordshire Health Authority to make sure hospitals in the area run smoothly throughout the festivities.

Janet Bolam, the Year 2000 emergency co-ordinator, said they were ready for party-goers who may become ill from drinking too much alcohol during the holiday period when extended licensing laws will allow bars and pubs to stay open for 36 hours.

As a precaution, the health authority will be setting up dedicated recuperation zones, where mattresses will be provided for people to recover from their night out. Ms Bolam said: "People who arrive at accident and emergency departments throughout the busy period will obviously be assessed, because they could have injuries as a result of being drunk.

"But if they are purely drunk, they will be put into the recuperation zones, where qualified staff can monitor their condition"

Zones will be in operation at the John Radcliffe, in Headington, the Radcliffe Infirmary, in the city centre, and at The Horton Hospital, Banbury.

Bars on the club circuit in Oxford will also be supplied with cards giving directions to the Minor Injuries Unit, at the Radcliffe Infirmary.

Ms Bolam said worries about vital hospital equipment failing due to the Millennium Bug were also unnecessary.

"All our machinery is guaranteed to be Millennium compliant by manufacturers. Even if we have a power cut through no fault of our own, we have emergency generators - a safety feature which is always available," she said.

Story date: Friday 19 November

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.