DORSET police have objected to a temporary licence for a Bridport bar to stay open and serving drink until 4am over the late August bank holiday weekend.

Unless agreement can be reached a Dorset Council licensing committee will decide the issue on Monday, August 23rd.

The temporary event application was submitted by Mr Michael Long for Neon, 39 East Street from 10pm to 4am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday 27-29th August and for a minute past midnight on Monday 30th until 4am. It covers the sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment at the late night bar and grill which was previously known as Sins.

Dorset Police say in their objection that when a previous temporary event was agreed for Neon on the weekend of July 23/24th there was a serious assault in the East Street involving people who had been customers at the premises.

In response to the police objection Mr Long has written to the council licensing panel to describe the police stance as “really harsh”.

He claims the incident was over a historical issue between the two parties: “It is agreed that this could literally happened anywhere at anytime. It just so happened that they were in ours on the same night,” he said.

Mr Long says he personally walked one of the men who was assaulted to the taxi rank, but had been ‘ambushed’ on the way there: “There really was no way of predicting or indeed preventing what happened that night,” he said in an email which will be read by councillors deciding the application.

Mr Long has also told the committee: “My record with police and licensing authorities is exemplary and above and beyond what is requested of us. This is the way it will remain. When we refuse entry or service we contact all the local bars off of our own backs to let them know who and why in the hope of keeping crime down in the pubs and keeping the risk of calling police to a minimum.”

The licensing hearing is scheduled to be held at County Hall, Dorchester at 11.30am on Monday August 23rd and will be open to the public.