'Crime scene mopped up' after attack - police

GW Horners, in Front Street, is "closed for refurbishment"

A popular pub is at risk of losing its licence after staff mopped up a crime scene following a vicious attack.

A man suffered a skull fracture in the toilets of GW Horners in Chester-le-Street on 15 April, during a karaoke event.

Durham Constabulary asked for its licence to be suspended after staff failed to phone police and "destroyed" the crime scene, committee papers said.

The papers added staff had assumed paramedics would alert the force. Pub chain Amber Taverns and GW Horners have been contacted for comment.

The man was followed into the toilets and attacked, leaving him with facial fractures, a bleed on the brain and memory loss.

According to CCTV footage, the suspect then returned to his drink before leaving the Front Street venue after chatting to other pub-goers.

After the victim was found unconscious on the toilet floor, staff called an ambulance but failed to phone police and reportedly did not administer any first aid.

The crime scene was then "destroyed" after the pub's manager mopped the floor after the man was taken to hospital, according to licencing papers.

Staff later said they had assumed the man had suffered a fall or taken ill, and thought paramedics would have called the police if necessary.

However, the attack was only reported when the victim’s sister contacted the force six days later, by which time opportunities to gather vital evidence and interview witnesses were reportedly lost.

'Significant risk'

According to papers submitted ahead of a special meeting of Durham County Council's licensing committee on Thursday, the area manager of pub management company, Amber Taverns, was asked to voluntarily close the pub to allow failings to be addressed.

He refused to do so and Durham Constabulary subsequently requested an immediate suspension of its licence, citing a "significant risk to public safety" and criticising its response to the assault.

In the force's application for a licence review, Sgt Caroline Dickenson said: “The ability to gain evidence from witnesses was lost, witnesses names were not recorded, CCTV was only then made available six days later, the quality of that CCTV was poor, and forensic opportunities were lost.”

Poor quality CCTV had been highlighted previously, following an incident in February that saw a member of staff hit in the head with a glass.

Durham council's licensing committee was due to hold a special meeting to discuss the licence review request on Thursday morning, with its decision to be published in the coming days.

Shortly after the meeting was set to begin, pub representatives posted on social media the venue was "closed for refurbishment".