A PUB where a man was attacked with a hammer is facing a new call for its licence to be reviewed.

A man was rushed to hospital this month after he was allegedly hit in the head with a hammer in an attack at the Star in Upton-upon-Severn.

The town’s mayor Peter Webb branded the attack “shocking and diabolical” and contacted licensing officers calling for the Star’s license to be revoked.

Now, the town council is supporting his concerns and will write to Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) – which acts on behalf of local councils – calling for a licensing review. Coun Webb said he had concerns about rowdy behaviour at the pub before the most recent incident. The council’s request for a review will be made “on the basis of the Star’s failure over a period of time to uphold three of the four licensing objectives – the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of public safety”.

Councillors supported the move, but former mayor Coun John Thompson said he did not want to see the pub shut down for good. “I would hate to see another Upton business boarded up,” he said. “The Star has been a great asset to the town in the past and it could be again. I think we should point out that it is fine having a public house there but that it needs to be properly managed, rather than shut down.”

The alleged hammer attack at the High Street pub happened at about 12.30am on Sunday, August 4. Police investigating believe the violence stemmed from a dispute between two men in the pub that took place earlier in the evening.

A man in his 50s was arrested and charged with grievous bodily harm and released on police bail.

A staff member at The Star told your Worcester News that the incident had been “blown out of proportion”.

But one worried resident, who asked not to be named, said goings on outside the pub were already “out of control” earlier in the day before the attack happened.

Although it has not yet received a formal application for a review of the Star’s licence, WRS is “monitoring the situation closely”.