Host jailed for perversion of justice
The former licensee of a Hull pub who deleted the CCTV footage of an alleged assault outside his venue has been jailed.
Sean Walsh, 29, was given a three-month prison sentence at Hull Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard that Walsh erased the CCTV footage that allegedly showed a customer at Hockney's Bar in Beverley Road being thrown out of the pub by a door supervisor.
The customer, Daniel Picker, suffered two fractures to his legs and needed hospital treatment after the alleged assault.
Walsh, of the Wirral, Merseyside, told police there was nothing on the tape, but later admitted that he had wiped the footage to prevent the doorman from getting into trouble.
Walsh pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.
Judge Michael Mettyear told Walsh: "It was a very stupid thing you did. It has consequences because it might be that there was evidence of the crime and it might be that the criminal may escape justice as a result of what you did.
"I would be very pleased if I could deal with you in a non-custodial way but I cannot. This is simply too serious to deal with other than with custody."
Three deny murder in Sunderland pub
Three men have denied killing a pensioner at a Sunderland pub. Fred Fowler, 72, was shot dead at the Tap & Barrel in Hendon in July. Michael Nixon, 19, was also shot but later recovered.
William Tobin, 46, Robert Fox, 36, and Lee Hay, 19, all denied charges of murder and attempted murder during a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday last week.
Hay, of Patterdale Street, Hartlepool; Tobin, of Kilwick Street, Hartlepool; and Fox, of Rotherham Road, Sunderland, also denied charges of grievous bodily harm with intent on Nixon.
Fox is also accused of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life in relation to a separate incident on 10 March.
All three men were remanded in custody until their trial on 17 January. Another man, 36-year-old Robert Chapman, of no fixed address, is yet to enter a plea to the charges he faces, and has also been remanded in custody.
Five jailed for brawl at Doncaster pub
Five men have been jailed and another 18 given community punishment orders following a mass brawl involving rival football fans at a pub in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
Around 50 Sheffield Wednesday fans visited the Hog's Head pub, which contained supporters of Doncaster Rovers, following a pre-season friendly about 18 months ago.
Missles were thrown at the pub and thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused.
The jailed men were given sentences of four to 18 months. Fifteen banning orders, excluding people from football matches, were also issued.
Drink spike training for Yeovil hosts
Licensees in Yeovil, Somerset, attended a training session on how to deal with suspected cases of drink spiking over the festive period.
Ambulance staff gave the licensees advice on first-aid and how to spot when someone's drink has been spiked. The hosts also learnt how to preserve evidence for the police.
The training course, which took place last week at Yeovil's Chicago Rock Café, is part of Avon & Somerset Police's "It's no Joke" anti-spiking Christmas campaign.
PC Brett Gitsham said: "Licensees can really help us make people aware about the dangers of drink spiking. We were approached by a number of licensees in the town who wanted more information about the potential dangers of drink spiking. This training aims to show licensees how vital they can be in assisting a potential victim and help us with our investigation."
New pubwatch launched in Crewkerne
A new pubwatch has been launched among village pubs around Crewkerne, Somerset.
Seven pubs in Stoke-sub-Hamdon, Norton-sub-Hamdon and Montacute are involved in the scheme. They will operate a "banned from one, banned from all" policy.
PC Andy Blackwell said: "All the pubs in the scheme share the same opinion please come and enjoy a drink and have fun but don't come and cause trouble."
