An Essex pub faces potentially losing its licence after a man had part of his ear bitten off. 

The Chequers in Rayleigh Road, Hutton has been subject to a review of its licence following concerns raised by Essex Police. 

Brentwood Council will consider the future of the business at a meeting on September 17, after Essex Police asked for the review due to a number of alleged assaults on the premises including an incident where a man lost part of his ear.

Documents for the council meeting ahead of the hearing outline how police were unable to get CCTV from the pub and that the case was closed due to lack of evidence.

The report states: “On May 11 at around 9.30pm, Essex Police were called to a report of males fighting at The Chequers and, upon attending, met with a male who was missing a section of ear and was alleging that it had been bitten off by the partner of the designated premises supervisor, Diane Thomas.

"It subsequently transpired that Ms Thomas’s partner, the alleged suspect in the case was also the only person able to access the password-protected CCTV system. 

“Following unsuccessful attempts to access the CCTV recording and, potentially, acquire crucial evidential material, the police were unable to determine whether data was lost due to a system failure or if it had been deleted.

"The criminal investigation was subsequently closed due to a lack of evidence. It is the police contention that a culmination of concerns undermines the crime and disorder licensing objective.”

Twenty-four representations in support of the pub and its management have been made to the council from customers and local residents.

The council has the following powers in relation to the business’ licence: do nothing with the licence; modify the conditions of the premises licence, removal of the designated premises supervisor from the licence, suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months or revoke the licence.

The Chequers did not respond when approached for comment.