Chorley landlady threatened barman with knife and smashed wine bottle over his head in 3 hour pub brawl

Helen Hardy, who was running the Lamplighter public house in Chorley two years ago, pleaded guilty to two violent offences against barman Cameron Mitchell during an alcohol-fuelled fight when they were alone in the pub after hours.

CCTV pictures of the confrontation in March 2023 showed the pair grappling on the floor behind the bar and later Mr Mitchell bleeding badly from a head wound caused by Hardy.

But even though Recorder Geoffrey Lowe agreed the offences were so serious they crossed the threshold for a custodial sentence, he decided not to send her to prison immediately.

Instead he gave her a two-year suspended sentence with strict conditions including 30 days of rehabilitation activities and warned her she would go straight to prison if she did not comply.

Hardy pleaded guilty to threatening Mr Mitchell with a blade and assaulting him causing actual bodily harm.

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The court was told the row broke out long after the pub had closed for the night. A 999 call was made to police at around 4.50am and then abandoned. Another call followed. Again no-one spoke but the call handler could hear a man and woman arguing before it was ended.

Then at 7.45am a third emergency call came in from a different number – Hardy’s mobile - where a man was heard threatening a woman.

Officers went to the pub in Market Street and found Cameron Mitchell with a serious head injury. Both he and Hardy were said to be drunk and she accused him of assaulting her.

Mr Mitchell was arrested and taken to hospital where he told them he had been the victim of the attack, not Hardy. He said he had been threatened with a knife and had a bottle smashed over his head.

But he declined to make a statement and refused medical treatment. The court heard he had opted not to co-operate with the police investigation.

It was only when police viewed the pub CCTV that it became apparent Hardy had been the aggressor. Footage displayed in court showed the pair fighting, both standing up and rolling around on the floor.

Hardy was seen with a knife raised up as if she was about to stab Mr Mitchell, but he fought her off. He wrestled her to the floor and eventually she was disarmed. But in more footage taken later she is again seen attacking him and this time, as they grappled, she was seen to grab a wine bottle from behind the bar and smash it over his head.

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A knife with blood on it was later recovered by police at the scene, although it had not been possible to decide if it had made any contact with Mr Mitchell who had marks on his neck and arm as well as a gash on the head.

At another point Mr Mitchell was seen to throw a bar stool across the floor as the argument raged for almost three hours, according to the CCTV footage.

Hardy later told police she had picked up the knife because she had felt threatened.

Barrister Olivia Gatfield, for Hardy, said her client understood the severity of the charges against her and was realistic about her fate. But she urged the judge to show leniency and suspend any prison sentence.

She said Hardy had been a long-term victim of domestic abuse – four previous partners had subjected her to violence – and that experience had impacted on her connecting with men and sometimes over-reacting in times of conflict.

She had expressed a “deep regret” for what had happened, she had not wanted it to happen, but she was “simply scared”.

Recorder Lowe told Hardy: “It was early morning and CCTV cameras captured prolonged offences of violence. You produced a knife and later hit him over the head with a wine bottle.

“You were both drunk and (later) there was a blame game going on. You blamed him for assaulting you and he was arrested and taken to hospital. It was only when the CCTV was viewed that the true picture emerged.

“Whatever the whys and wherefores these are serious offences and they clearly cross the custody threshold.

“It was a prolonged episode of violent conduct spread over a prolonged period of time.

“You were in this pub because it was an opportunity for you to manage that pub. You had worked together previously with the victim. The place had (just) been renovated. It had only been open again for four days. One consequence is you lost your job and now live in council accommodation.”

The judge said the sentence would be two years on each offence to run concurrently, which meant the term could be suspended. He also felt there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

And he urged Hardy to look at her choice of partners in future. “You have been subjected to violence at the hands of four of them. (And so) I am just about able to suspend this sentence.”

Hardy’s two-year jail term will be suspended for two years. She will have to participate in the probation service’s Building Choices programme and, having moved from her previous home in Leyland, she must reside at her current council accommodation in Nelson for the next six months.