POLICE have spoken of a shocking brawl which erupted inside a Worcester pub - with one man left unconscious in an ugly melee.

Your Worcester News can reveal how the landlord of the Bush Inn in St John's has been removed after a brutal six-man fight started inside the premises.

The boozer was handed permission to re-open by Worcester City Council today after being closed down for a month following the incident.

During a licensing sub-committee hearing today, a panel of three councillors allowed it to start trading again but only after police turned up to detail the events in April.

During the hearing:

- Sergeant John Lawrence said the previous landlord did not call police during or after the fight, revealing they were only alerted to it by a member of the public

- CCTV showed up to six men involved in a nasty brawl, with West Mercia Police calling it "serious disorder"

- A bar stool was used as a weapon to attack some of the victims, one man lost consciousness during the scrap while others were punched and stamped on whilst on the ground

Sergeant Lawrence said: "At about 12.30am on Sunday, April 26 an emergency call was received from a member of the public reporting serious disorder near to the Bush Inn.

"The caller indicated that five or six people were fighting and that one male had a ‘really bad head injury’.

"Officers attended and initially found a lot of people milling about in the area, with emotions and tempers running high.

"They then found three males with visible injuries, all of which required medical treatment.

"These victims were reluctant to say what had happened, except to state that they had been set upon inside the pub."

He said CCTV was then seized showing a fight break out, calling it a "vicious assault" which "quickly escalated", involving up to six people.

"A bar stool was used as a weapon to strike victims on the head," he said.

"Victims were punched and stamped on whilst on the ground.

"As a result of the sustained disorder, which lasted for (around) three minutes, one male is seen to be unconscious on the floor and the two others with this male, are clearly injured and requiring assistance."

Three arrests were made after the CCTV was seized, with all three men bailed as the Crown Prosecution Service decides whether to press charges.

The images showed the old landlord sipping a drink while watching the fight unfold, which led to the owners terminating his contract after the pub was temporarily closed down.

Despite the incident, Mr Lawrence said officers are fine for the pub to re-open as long as a new landlord can be found.

Andrew Boughton, speaking for the pub, called the fight "inexplicable" but insisted it was a complete one-off.

"This property is a long-established community pub," he said.

"There's been no history with the premises prior to this, it was an unforeseeable incident that could have happened anywhere."

The police agreed that the pub has not caused other problems, with the licensing sub-committee agreeing to lift its suspension.

After the meeting Mr Boughton said he was interviewing potential new landlords with a view to re-opening as soon as possible.

The police originally suggested that the pub only re-open with door supervisors, but changed tack after Mr Boughton said it would the business more difficult.

The three committee members who gave the pub the nod to trade again under a new landlord were Simon Cronin, Lucy Hodgson and Allah Ditta.