Cambridge publican awarded £25,000 in compensation after being wrongly evicted

Police agreed to pay legal costs and compensation three days before a civil court hearing brought by Nigel Marsh arguing he had been falsely imprisoned and injured by police.

A dispute broke between Marsh and a couple he had employed to run the George pub in March, Cambridge day-to-day, leading to a battle to control the pub in 2011. Marsh was evicted from the pub three times and was later charged by police for assaulting a police officer and breaching the peace.

But he was acquitted after a judge ruled police had acted unlawfully.

Marsh said: “It’s time the local council, licensing councillors and the police realised us publicans need support and not constant digs, criticism and paper chases. Our customers see us as important hosts within society yet the establishment so often treats us with contempt.

“In this particular incident, if licensing and the police had stopped to talk and to listen they would have gained enough information to decide how to act.”