Troubled pub The Crumped Horn will be able to re-open – but the company which owns it and holds the licence, Admiral Taverns, will have to find another premises supervisor.

Swindon Borough Council’s licensing committee decided to let the pub retain its premises licence, despite a request from Wiltshire Police to shut the place down.

But the three-councillor panel decided to remove Jane Jeapes from the position of designated premises supervisor for what it says was her failure to control the pub.

Having got magistrates to agree to close the pub for six weeks from mid-March, constables Rebecca Berni and John Barker presented evidence from the police alleging the pub had long been a focus for gang-related activity, in particular drug-dealing.

PC Barker said the previous designated premises supervisor had left, and the pub had been closed for a while, because she could not cope with the gangs using it as a base and feared reprisals if she spoke to the police.

He said the police had tried to engage Mrs Jeapes when she took on the pub in late 2022 – but said she had not signed up to the voluntary schemes he had suggested.

He added: “The problems the pub had before have not gone away and don’t look like they’re going away. Notably issues regarding gangs, disorder, weapons and drugs. Intelligence and incidents have been increasing culminating in a violent disorder at the pub on Friday, March 10 where several persons were in possession of knives and/or machetes.

“It is therefore a real genuine concern that the current designated premises supervisor has lost control of her pub which seems to be more run by its troublesome clientele than herself, notably local gang members.

“There has already been one too many incidents of serious disorder and further serious disorder is not only feared but expected.”

Representing Admiral Taverns, solicitor Malcolm Ireland said: “We are not trivialising or diminishing the seriousness of the incident.”

He added: ”The police evidence is lacking. Their submission refers to 21 intelligence items about criminal activity at the pub, but we have had no details.

“Drug-dealing, gang activity, crime and disorder are a wider societal problem. The guidance on licensing says there should be a causal relationship between a premises and the issue for a licence to be revoked.

The Crumpled Horn is not the cause of the problems of drugs and gang activity. And closing it down will not make those problems go away.”

Mr Ireland said communications from the police about the pub had focussed more on the business relationship Mrs Jeapes had with the landlord and not on crime and disorder.

He added: “It would be better to keep the pub open and for the police to work with the premises supervisor to tackle these issues.”

The panel meeting was also attended by Mrs Jeapes’ husband and a friend Liam O’Neill.

Although he did not speak in the panel meeting, outside Mr Jeapes said: “There has been no real evidence given by police to show Jane has allowed drug dealing in the pub, even though they say that. It’s had a really bad effect on her.”

Mr O’Neill added: “It’s a shame the CCTV footage of the ‘machete attack’ couldn’t be seen. It shows the youths made no attempt to get into the pub, they just ran around and then left.

“Jane acted very responsibly to lock the doors.”

An appeal against Mrs Jeapes loss of her position may be lodged within 21 days. Mr Jeapes said he would want to appeal.

Admiral Taverns’ regional manger Davis Stallard said: “We accept the panel’s decision. We will work with the police to make the Crumpled Horn the pub we all want it to be.”