Manager is barred from his pub by GK

A Greene King manager has been barred from his pub ­ despite the fact he lives in a flat upstairs ­ for shutting the venue during a mass brawl without getting permission from his area manager. John Ellis has been suspended, pending an enquiry, as manager of the Dolphin Hotel in Bournemouth after an incident on Saturday 20 November.

That night Ellis, who was having an evening off, told his assistant manager to shut the venue after violence broke out among a group of around 15 men aged 25 to 35.

But Greene King said he should have told his area manager before taking the action. Ellis is still being allowed to live in the flat above the pub until the enquiry is concluded. But he has been barred from entering the pub itself despite the fact that he lives in the flat upstairs.

Ellis now has to enter his flat through a door at the back of the building. He told the Bournemouth Daily Echo: "I can't go into the pub and have to carry my son in and out of the flat along the fire escape. It's causing us a great deal of stress."

Greene King said: "The manager was not on site when the incident occurred but took the decision to close the hotel. This decision was taken without following the proper guidelines supplied by Greene King and therefore, following normal procedure in this type of situation, the suspension was put in place to be followed by further internal investigation."