Host had no licence
A Berkshire host traded without a licence for more than a year, a court has heard.
Mark Stott, of the Old Anchor, Abingdon, admitted before Wan-tage magistrates that he had run the pub for 13 months without a licence.
Stott told the court that when he took over the pub in September 2002 he had been wrongly advised that he he could still trade "on the back of" the previous manager's licence, jointly held with the area manager of Greene King brewery.
Stott told the court that the error had not been deliberate.
He said: "I've held a licence for 20 years and never ever had a problem, and never had the need to call the police, ever.
I have always taken my licensing responsibly."
The error came to light when Stott prepared to leave the Old Anchor to take over the Bear at South Moreton, near Didcot.
The new tenants applied for a protection order and their solicitor uncovered the mistake.
As a result Stott was forced to close the pub for six days until granted a protection order at the hearing.
Licensing Justice Trevor Dodd said: "It's a serious matter to run a public house without a licence.
But we have listened to what you have told us and taken notice of the length of time you have been in the licensed trade."
Stott was warned that the matter had been reported to the Crown Prosecution Service and further action was still possible.
Pensioner fell in hole A pensioner who fell into a 6ft-hole outside a village pub was stranded for 11 hours.
Tommy Smith, 81, stumbled into the cordoned-off hole near the Cowdray Arms in Balcombe, West Sussex, at around 11am last Sunday.
The pensioner was discovered at around 10pm that evening, after Cowdray Arms licensee Claire Voller called the waterboard after noticing problems with the water supply at the pub.
Waterboard workers called the police when they discovered Smith.
Police called the fireservice, who took Smith to the Princess Royal Hospital in nearby Haywards Heath, complaining of pains in his ribs.
As the Morning Advertiser went to press, Smith's condition at the hospital was described as "comfortable".
Clampdown in Norwich Police have arrested several people in Norwich as part of an operation to improve safety at the city's pubs and clubs.
Local forces teamed up with licensees in an attempt to fight crime in the Norfolk city.
Police used sniffer dogs to make a number of drug-related arrests.
One person was arrested for anti-social behaviour while two others were stopped for urinating in the street.
Death in gas incident A man died and another is in a critical condition after an accident involving a gas fire in an outhouse of a Suffolk pub.
Police were called to a building in the grounds of the Bush Inn, Shimpling, at around 11.30am on Sunday.
They found two men, aged 21 and 20, unconscious.
The 21-year-old died and the other was taken to hospital in Gorleston for specialist treatment.
Police believe either one or both of the men lived at the pub.
Officers suspect the fire in the outhouse had gone out or developed a fault, allowing poisonous gas to escape.
The pub has been cordoned off as forensic officers focus their search on the portable building.
Officers are not treating the incident as suspicious.
Men injured in pub fight Police are looking for six men after a pub fight left several people injured.
The men seriously assaulted the three male victims at around 11.15pm on Saturday at the Bakery Inn in Malvern, Worcestershire.
They escaped in a black Ford Transit-style van from a car park at the back of the nearby Spice Cuisine restaurant.
One of the injured men was rushed by ambulance to the Worcestershire Royal Hospital.
The other two were treated by paramedics at the scene.
The six attackers all said they were from Yorkshire.
One is described as between 40 and 50-years-old, another 6ft 2ins with mousy blonde hair, the third 5ft 8ins with dark hair and a moustache and the fourth, tall with dark brown hair.
The other two, thought to be in their mid-20s, were described as looking like twins.
Anyone with info should call police on 08457 444888.
