JT Mellanby's pub in Finkle Street, Selby has licence revoked

JT Mellanby's on Finkle Street, dubbed 'unsafe' by licensing officers, was shut in April after a fight left one man in hospital with serious injuries and police applied for an urgent review of the pub's licence.

The pub's owners had an appeal turned down last week, and Selby District Council's licensing committee permanently took away the pub's licence on Wednesday, saying the incident in April was the worst it had ever dealt with.

The council's senior enforcement officer Tim Grogan said: "This is a pub that lost its way. All the evidence points to a lack of responsible and effective management. This often meant that customers injured in outbreaks of violence could not rely on matters being properly and promptly reported and were therefore unable to receive appropriate care and treatment. Put simply, it had become an unsafe venue."

A spokesman for the licensing committee said the behaviour of Mellanby's staff at the April incident was "well below" the standard expected, meaning the committee had no confidence the pub's licence holder would be able to take control and resolve the problems.

A report to the committee laid out problems dating back to July 2010, from claims pub staff served underage and drunk people and let customers barred by the Pubwatch scheme into the premises to complaints about drug use, smoking, brawls and staff hostility to the police.

It mentioned four violent incidents in 2014 alone, including a serious assault between customers which was reported by doormen from a neighbouring pub; and the fight between a reported 20 people on April 1.

The Press has previously reported claims of the mass fight, when the sole worker did not phone police when asked by a member of the public.

A police report also claimed CCTV showed drunk people being served alcohol throughout the evening, and the worker stepping over the unconscious victim while clearing glasses from tables for about 15 minutes.