Under-21s will no longer be allowed inside after 10pm on Friday, Saturday or the night before a Bank Holiday

By Victoria Munro

A Chingford pub must now bar any customers younger than 21 on weekend nights or the night before Bank Holidays after a string of violent incidents.

Rusty Bike in Station Road had new conditions added to its alcohol licence after a meeting with Waltham Forest Council’s licensing committee last week, requested by the local police.

The pub’s staff will now have to conduct random bag searches, after a customer brought a weapon into the pub last November, and serve drinks in “toughened glass”, after a woman had a glass broken over her head.

Anyone younger than 21 will be barred after 10pm on weekends or before a Bank Holiday and, on these nights, the pub must shut at 1am and stop serving half an hour earlier.

Police requested the meeting due to concern “about the escalation of violence”, including an incident on 11th November when they claim a 19-year-old was allowed inside with a knife, later used to stab two young men nearby after a fight inside the building.

In her submission to the committee, PC Kerry-Ann Tilley said of the November incident that, if either party involved had been asked to leave after the argument, “it is likely the assault [outside] would not have taken place”.

She also noted that the suspect was not searched or asked to show ID when entering and that the pub seems to attract a younger crowd.

However, she conceded that the manager and owner “are passionate about the business” and “have shown willingness to implement change”.

In an email sent to the committee, the area’s three local Conservative councillors – Kay Isa, Mitchell Goldie and Sazimet Palta-Imre – echoed the police’s concerns.

Speaking on behalf of her fellow ward councillors, Cllr Isa wrote: “We regularly get complaints from residents on Connaught Avenue and Farnley Road about patrons leaving the [pub] and continuing to drink on the surrounding roads.”

Waltham Forest Council’s licensing committee met on 17th January and issued their written decision today.

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