TWO Colne Valley pubs face licence fights after allegations of robbery, fighting and underage drinking.

Councillors will decide next week whether to punish the Shoulder of Mutton in Slaithwaite and the Coach and Horses in Linthwaite following police investigations.

Pc Richard Farrand has asked Kirklees Council to review the licence of the Slaithwaite pub following a “noticeable increase in violent crime in and around the premises”.

The police officer described how “several masked men” entered the Shoulder of Mutton at 2am on January 21, while seven customers were taking part in a lock-in.

Pc Farrand wrote: “They threatened all the men with violence, making demands for them to hand over personal property. Then their hands and feet were tied with electrical cable.

“A female was located upstairs in the living room and also tied up with the other victims. A man calling himself the landlord was dragged downstairs and beaten in an attempt to locate a safe.

“The gaming machines were also attacked and money stolen.”

Pc Farrand added that investigating officers were unable to view any CCTV of the incident because the pub had not replaced cameras stolen a fortnight earlier.

The officer listed several other incidents at the Church Street venue, including:

Police visited the Shoulder of Mutton at 2am on January 15, 2011 – 90 minutes after the pub was supposed to have stopped serving. They found “20 people inside consuming alcohol” and “a strong smell of tobacco smoke”.

A female customer was assaulted by another woman as she left the pub at 2am on January 29, 2011. The victim suffered “cuts and swelling to her forehead”.

On April 10, 2011 a male drinker was punched several times in the face by another customer. Both men were “heavily in drink” at the time.

A drinker smashed a beer glass into the face of a man who was walking past the pub on September 30, 2011.

Pc Farrand has asked councillors to revoke the licence of pub company Punch Taverns.

He wrote: “The same problems are present at the Shoulder of Mutton in January 2012 as in January 2011 – a disregard for opening hours, acts of violence and breaches of the premises licence.