Manchester pub’s licence suspended after bouncer ‘fly kicks’ punter

The licensing panel decided to suspend the premises licence immediately pending a full review of The Levenshulme pub in Stockport Road.
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A bouncer ‘fly kicked’ a man who was filming door staff failing to stop a fight outside a pub which left his partner with a ‘stab wound’, the police have said. The Levenshulme pub in Stockport Road has been closed since the incident in the early hours of Saturday (December 3) which saw a man rushed to hospital.

According to police, CCTV footage shows two security staff in the doorway of the pub doing nothing to de-escalate the fight taking place in front of them. A man wearing a tan-coloured jacket and cap is seen to get an object from the back of his trouser waistband, before making a stabbing motion towards the victim’s abdomen area, according to a report published by Manchester city council.

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Moments earlier, the victim’s partner who was filming door staff on his mobile phone received a ‘flying kick’ to the head from a doorman who punched him ‘numerous times’ before both bouncers drove away, the police report added. The victim’s injuries were not life threatening, according to the police, but he was still in hospital as of Tuesday (6 December) after requiring some surgery. A man later identified by police has been arrested for a Section 18 wounding.

Speaking on behalf of GMP at a licensing hearing on Wednesday (7 December) PC Alan Isherwood urged councillors to temporarily suspend the pub’s licence.

He said: “The door staff who are clearly there to prevent crime and protect people didn’t do anything other than to violently assault a customer who was there filming on his phone.”

Representing Stonegate which owns the Craft Union Pub Company that The Levenshulme belongs to, Graeme Cushion said the bouncer was a ‘wrong’un’. He said that this is not the first time a ‘rogue doorman’ has done ‘something stupid’, but the company has never experienced problems with the security firm which supplied this member of door staff at this or any of their other pubs. But New Concept will no longer be providing security staff for the pub, he said.

The Levenshulme pub in Stockport Road.  Credit: GoogleThe Levenshulme pub in Stockport Road.  Credit: Google
The Levenshulme pub in Stockport Road. Credit: Google
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The pub’s landlady Bianca Henderson, who took over in July, has done an ‘awful lot of work’ to get rid of ‘unsavoury elements’ of the establishment, according to Mr Cushion who described the area and the clientele as ‘difficult’. Stonegate licensing director Paul Wright said there were ‘quite a few illegal substances being taken’ at the pub, but perpetrators have been removed.

According to the pub’s solicitor, the man accused of the stabbing – who is a ‘vaguely familiar face’, but not known well by staff – told the victim that the doorman stabbed him and went inside as he helped pick up his belongings.

Mr Cushion added: “He was winding the whole situation up which is why they then put the windows through because they thought our management team were actually hiding our door team inside.”

Mr Cushion asked the panel not to suspend the premises licence, but promised the pub would not reopen until police were satisfied it is safe.

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However, PC Isherwood told the panel that the pub’s landlady is ‘frightened’ to reopen the premises, referring to her victim impact statement at the hearing which said that she is ‘terrified there’ll be repercussions’ after the incident.

The licensing panel decided to suspend the premises licence immediately pending a full review which is scheduled to take place on December 20.

Security firm New Concept has been approached for comment.

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