CIVIC chiefs have ruled that a woman should be banned from running a pub following a spate of incidents involving violence and drunkenness.

Police were called to a series of drunken assaults at Butlers Bar and Grill, including one in which a woman was punched in the face and suffered a fractured eye socket.

But the woman in charge was never able to operate the pub’s CCTV system and on one occasion was drunk herself, councillors were told.

Members of the district council’s licensing sub-committee agreed that Lynda Butler should be removed as the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) at the bar in Shaftesbury Road, Fordingbridge.

Police officers at the hearing claimed that Mrs Butler had repeatedly failed to address serious issues at the pub.

A report to councillors said officers were called to the bar in September last year after a woman was punched in the face and knocked unconscious.

The report added: “Mrs Butler was asked to provide CCTV footage.

“She stated that she did not know how to use the system and could not download the footage. She said she would call out a technician the following day, but this did not happen.

“The delay meant police were unable to take prompt action against a violent offender.”

The report also cited an incident that occurred in June this year when officers paid a routine visit to the pub and noticed a group of drunken customers.

“The group were verbally abusive and Mrs Butler was asked to deal with them,” it said.

“She failed to do so and became argumentative with the officers. They describe her as smelling strongly of alcohol and state that she was drunk.

“She was managing the premises at the time and this was completely unacceptable behaviour.”

Mrs Butler’s husband John said he accepted the evidence submitted by the police and added: “I’m sorry that we have reached this point.”

Outlining the pub’s recent history Mr Butler said he and his wife bought the business in 2002 and ran it successfully for several years.

But problems in their marriage resulted in him leaving to run a bar near Salisbury.

Mr Butler said he returned to Butlers earlier this year and immediately began to tackle the issues that had arisen in his absence.

“The pub has not been managed properly in the past – I fully accept that – but all the problems we have had have now been rectified,” he said.

“I would ask you to place your faith in my ability to put things right. There have been no issues since the start of July.”

Mr Butler said his wife, who did not attend the hearing, was willing to stand down as DPS.

But the sub-committee ruled that she should be removed from the post. They also imposed conditions relating to CCTV and measures aimed at stamping out drunkenness, violence and anti social behaviour.