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Furious England fans go on the rampage

Alex Scapens
28/11/2007

A MAN had his ear bitten off after boozed-up football fans, enraged by England’s Euro 2008 failure, wreaked havoc at an Edgeley pub.

Up to 20 supporters began brawling and smashing up the Church Inn, on Moseley Street, in the early hours of Thursday morning in the wake of England’s 3-2 defeat by Croatia.

Witnesses said the scene was ‘like a battlefield’.

The pub was so badly damaged it was boarded up the next day - and now local councillors want it to remain closed.

During the fracas, which saw tables overturned and windows shattered, a 36-year-old man had his ear bitten off.

Ward councillor Sheila Bailey said: "There were a lot of people in watching the match. I got a phone call saying all hell had broken loose, it was a riot and had spilled out onto the street.

"I presume when England lost, if people were tanked up it didn’t take much to set them off with a fight.

"There have been problems there before and it’s in the middle of residential property. The ward councillors want to see the place closed, people should be able to live in peace and quiet."

Police were called to the pub following reports of a large disturbance. Most people involved had fled.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "It woke me up. I heard women screaming, then shouting and glass smashing.It is not the first time it has happened, it’s like a battlefield."

A 36-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and has been bailed pending further inquiries until December 5.

The ear-biting incident is being treated as assault occasioning grievous bodily harm. As the Stockport Express went to press one person had been arrested.

Det Insp Terry Sweeney said: "Incidents like this make it less likely people will go out to enjoy a drink in a pub and we want to stamp these incidents out.

"We have better things to come to than mass brawls because people can’t take drink and defeat."

A spokesman for Frederic Robinson Ltd, which owns the Church Inn, said it is intended to reopen the pub at the earliest opportunity.

He added: "The site has recently been operated by an experienced temporary management couple employed by Robinson’s, who also look after another of our pubs where they are working full-time during this closure.

"We do not anticipate any undue delay in being able to return to normal business at the Church Inn and we have received no representations to suggest otherwise.

"As a result we are now actively looking for a suitable tenant with the right business sense and ambition who will be committed to operating a well run community pub for Edgeley."

Anyone with information can contact Stockport CID on 856 9755 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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