The Leilani bar and restaurant in Lavender Hill is no longer permitted to sell any alcoholic drinks after councillors on the borough’s licensing sub-committee revoked its licence.

The application to withdraw the licence was made by the police after a violent incident inside the bar on October 11th.

One of the bar’s customers was subjected to what police described as a serious assault. But instead of detaining the suspect or calling the police or an ambulance, security staff allowed the culprit to leave the premises. The victim of the attack was ejected onto the street without being given any first aid or other assistance, and bar staff allegedly cleared away and disposed of forensic evidence.

In the aftermath, the owner is alleged to have attempted to mislead the police investigation by falsely claiming the assault had happened outside. The bar’s CCTV cameras were also not working.

Councillors were also told that the owner had failed on numerous occasions to heed warnings about how the bar was being run.

He had failed to comply with the conditions of his licence because he had opened for business despite not having a named designated premises supervisor in place, while council noise patrol officers had also witnessed numerous incidents when loud music had been heard coming from the bar after hours. It was clear they said that the bar was staying open serving drinks and playing music long after it should have been closed for the night.

Complaints had also been received from neighbours that the bar’s garden was still being frequented by customers in the early hours of the morning, when the terms of its planning permission prohibited them from being there after 8pm.

Chairman of the sub-committee Cllr Caroline Usher said: “This shocking catalogue of failure proves beyond all reasonable doubt that this poorly run business should not be allowed to hold a licence to sell alcohol.

“The owner has only himself to blame for finding himself in this predicament. Other licence holders would be well advised to pay close attention to the consequences of not adhering to the terms of their licences.

“We have acted swiftly and decisively in this case to protect the public, discourage crime and disorder and ensure that neighbours are not subject to unacceptable and unreasonable noise nuisance and we will continue to do so where the circumstances demand it.”