OWNERS of a Leominster pub do not know whether the venue has a future after a definitive ruling was made to restrict its licence.

Herefordshire Council’s regulatory committee decided last week that the Ducking Stool, on South Street, could operate until 12.30am on weekends rather than the previous 2am time.

It followed weeks of anguish for licensee Jan Morris and husband Matt after the pub’s licence was suspended at a special meeting of the committee following a late-night disturbance which left a 29-year-old with significant facial injuries.

After appealing the suspension, Mrs Morris was removed as the designated premises supervisor and the venue re-opened with stringent conditions.

The couple say they feel they have been “victimised” by police and are unsure whether they can continue trading.

Chief inspector Adam Thomas told the committee there was no record of the serious incident being logged at the venue and there had been 19 incidents recorded as being connected with the premises since 2013.

Councillor Jenny Bartlett also spoke at the meeting on behalf of the South Street Residents Association who supported modification of conditions on the licence including a reduction in hours.

But Mr and Mrs Morris said news of the licence review came as a shock as they had not received a complaint about the venue in 13 months.

Mr Morris said there were “teething problems” with noise after the venue was initially granted a late licence but those had been addressed.

“A 12.30am finish is not even the same time as the other pubs around us in Leominster and that is why we feel we are being victimised,” Mrs Morris said.

"We pushed for the late licence because the nightclub [Euphoria] went and we wanted to keep a generation from going out of town and it did help the revenue across Leominster. People are going out later and if they can't go to their own town late they will go away or go somewhere else.

The couple added that calls to the police have included a fight in the street outside – not connected to the venue – which was logged against them but said they could not afford to appeal the decision.

They also thanked the Leominster community for their support as well as Wayne Harris from Shooters bar.

Adam Thomas, Chief Inspector with West Mercia Police, said in response to Mr and Mrs Morris’ claims: “Police presented the case to the licensing panel. We have a responsibility to protect people from harm which is a responsibility we take very seriously. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”