The Pitlake Arms. pic: Ruddhi Abhyankar
The Pitlake Arms pub on Wadden New Road was closed by Croydon Council this week, following a series of complaints made to police about the way the pub is run.
Terry Jelley, 68, who has run the pub since 1995, has lost the licence. Jelley, who will not appeal the decision, is now set to sell the pub.
According to police, a large number of serious assaults have taken place at the pub over the last year. A series of complaints have also been made about the venue, including trading after permitted hours, smoking inside, drug use, and fights.
At a licensing sub-committee meeting last week, barrister Matt Butt, representing the Met, claimed that Jelley tried to hide the fact that an assault had taken place on numerous occasions.
“Over 12 months four people seriously assaulted have been allowed to leave [the pub], and most seriously, on no occasion had the police or ambulance been called. There is a significant risk someone in that condition could come to further harm and we fear a fatality could occur”, Butt said.
At the same meeting, Jelley freely admitted to holding lock-ins at the Pitlake Arms. He said: “Back street pubs like me all have lock-ins. It’s been going on back to the 17th Century.”
The pub, which stands very close to Croydon town centre, was established over 160 years ago and is now up for sale.
