A PUB with a history of problems including under-age drinking and drug abuse has cleaned up its act, council chiefs were told.

Police said the situation at Wellingtons in Osborne Road, New Milton, had improved since Peter Smith was replaced as designated premises supervisor (DPS) by Keri-Anne Ewins.

District councillors were debating an application – made when Mr Smith was still DPS – to review the pub’s licence.

A report to the licensing subcommittee listed a series of incidents that took place between December 2011 and May this year, including one in which a man attempted to “glass” his brother’s girlfriend.

When police arrived the pub was strewn with broken glass but Mr Smith “claimed to have seen absolutely nothing”, said the report.

In other incidents the men’s toilets tested positive for cocaine and a 17-year-old girl was assaulted.

Councillors also heard that a woman left Wellingtons in a drunken state earlier this year and later suffered a fatal fall at her home.

But Acting Sergeant Bethan Wood, representing the police, said things had improved following the arrival of Miss Ewins.

She told the sub-committee: “Since Mr Smith was replaced there have been significant changes at the premises. All the conditions we requested have begun to be implemented, with the exception of a written drugs policy.

“There have been absolutely no concerns since the change of DPS.”

Premises licence holder William Drew also referred to the conditions, which include CCTV in all public areas, the keeping of an incident book and the continued implementation of a Challenge 25 policy.

Mr Drew said: “The conditions are quite adequate to deal with the situation that we did have.”

The three-man sub-committee had the power to suspend or revoke the pub’s licence but acknowledged that improvements had taken place.

The chairman, Cllr Goff Beck, said: “We were pleased to hear that the premises licence holder has worked closely with the police in implementing the changes proposed by the police.

“The sub-committee is satisfied, based on the evidence provided by the police at the hearing, that the licensing objectives are now being upheld.”