Football thugs go on rampage and storm pub
A LANDLADY has told how she was assaulted as she tried to defend her city centre pub from a shocking attack by football hooligans.
Footage shows thugs attempting to storm the Crown and Anchor in Manchester’s Northern Quarter which resulted in a doorman suffering a broken arm and hundreds of pounds worth of damage.
The M.E.N. can reveal that in a bizarre coincidence a BBC film crew had been making a documentary on football violence directly outside the pub earlier.
However, after the filming had finished and crews had left, staff at the pub say that a group of around a dozen hooded men arrived outside the premises and began to throw sticks, stones and even an advertising board at staff at the Hilton Street pub during the fracas on Saturday afternoon.
Pub licensee, Debbie Maughan, who runs the pub with her husband Ian, was also hurt.
She said: “There were just a few City fans drinking in our pub. It started at about 5pm. The City against Stoke game had finished and United fans had come back to Manchester after their game in Liverpool. The United fans were trying to get into our pub at the handful of City fans.
“We had three windows broken and one doorman suffered a broken arm. They smashed up an A-board outside the pub and used it to hit people with. I was hit in the head myself with a piece of wood. We never usually have any trouble with football fans. I have been licensee here for 14 to 15 years.”
It is not known if any of the people filmed were involved or still in the area, when the violence broke out at around 5.10pm. However, Debbie says she was not comfortable with the filming outside her premises and had asked the crew to move on.
“The BBC had been filming outside all day. It was a documentary to do with old style football violence. I was going mad. I went outside to object,” she said.
Video footage from the incident, shot by an eyewitness, shows a group of around 12 men approaching the pub. As they walk up to the windows of the boozer they appear to try and access the pub through a side window.
A man who appears from inside the venue can be seen throwing missiles at some of the group before going back inside.
Several of the group then run up towards the front entrance and try and rush into the pub. As door staff wrestle to contain them a man with a large stick surges forward.
Simultaneously, another man picks up a menu board and attempts to throw it at a window and then at the door.
A doorman is then hit with a large stick and lashes out at his attacker himself.
A spokesman for the GMP confirmed that officers were called to reports of a violent disorder at the Crown and Anchor pub in Hilton Street at 5.12pm.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.