Worthing bar banned from selling alcohol

Police lodged an application with Worthing Council asking it to revoke the drinks licence of The Rest bar, in Bath Place, following complaints about poor conduct, foul language, disorder and drunkenness.

The application was heard by the council's licensing and control committee on Wednesday (February 13) night. The committee imposed a 30 day suspension of the premises licence, which means no alcohol will be permitted to be sold for that duration.

Police inspector Gavin Whitehouse said: "We generally achieve a very high level of co-operation with licencees on the district, however, in these circumstances, this has not been the case.

"We all have a legal and moral obligation to make our licensed premises and the surrounding streets a safe place for everyone. As a result of their failure to engage with this process, this particular licencee has paid the penalty with their premises licence."

Incidents detailed by the police in a report to the committee included one on November 17 last year, in which a serious assault at the premises resulted in a man lying unconscious on the pub floor.

Six days later, a fight developed involving a group of "drunken, aggressive" men who had left the pub. In another incident at the bar, on November 27, two police officers were assaulted by a man they had just arrested.

And the police claimed that on November 28, they saw a 16-year-old youth drinking lager from a half-pint glass at The Rest.

As well as the licence suspension, the committee imposed conditions to the bar relating to membership of security scheme Pubwatch and staff training.