Outrage over caution for licensee attack

A Lancashire licensee, victim of an alleged brutal assault in his own pub, is outraged after his underage attacker was let off with a reprimand.

The licensee's partner, Michelle Urmston, asked: "Does somebody have to die before the police actually do something? They aren't setting the right example. A few years ago if you hit a landlord or a nurse, you were going down. There's nothing protecting us now."

The 17-year-old youth was in "quiet family pub", the Avenue in Leigh, Lancashire, on Sunday afternoon watching football with his father. At 6.30pm, after most of the regulars had left, he allegedly assaulted his father.

Licensee Ian Wright was quick to intervene, holding back the young man until he had calmed down, and asking him to leave the premises quietly. But the youth rounded on Wright, allegedly assaulting him too. Police arrived and arrested the attacker within half an hour.

Urmston, who has three young children, including a 16-week-old baby, said she now has to cope with Wright's injuries — he is epileptic and has been suffering from seizures since the assault — the children and running the pub.

A local police spokeswoman said a reprimand wasn't unusual for a youth offence of common assault. "In any case like this, officers will weigh up whether the offender has previously been reprimanded, or has a record, or whether there are any mitigating cirsumstances before deciding on the charge."

The local Pubwatch has called an emergency meeting next week to discuss the incident — and Urmston hopes the youth will be banned from all pubs in the town.

Last year, following a spate of attacks on licensees, British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) chief executive Rob Hayward, wrote to the Home Office calling for tougher action against thugs who attack licensees and pub staff.