Two pubs closed by police are reopened hours later

Officers visited the Foundry Arms, in Artillery Street, and the Leather Bottle, in Shrub End Road, yesterday and found both were in breach of licensing law as they failed to have a designated premises supervisor.

The relevant person had left the Leather Bottle on August 3 and the Foundry Arms on August 10.

Michael Aitchison, licensing officer for Colchester police, said they had taken action after both pubs were found to be “in breach of mandatory conditions” of their licence.

He said: “They have effectively been selling alcohol unlawfully for 23 days at the Leather Bottle and 16 days at the Foundry Arms.”

Both pubs were barred from serving alcohol until they had a new supervisor, with both pulling pints again by the early afternoon.

The new licensee at the Foundry, who would not give his name, said: “There was a mistake in the paperwork, which is easily done and has just as easily been resolved.”

The Leather Bottle is currently up for sale with estate agency Fleurets, which describes it as “ideally located to operate as a family dining pub”.

Both pubs are run by London Town Pubs, which declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the Rose and Crown, in Dedham, one of three pubs in the village, is closing on Sunday after landlady Linda Lilley did not renew her lease after five years behind the bar.

She said: “Business has not been good recently, so I have decided to call it a day, and as far as I know no one new is coming in.

“Customers are simply not coming in as much because they don’t feel secure in their work.”

Christopher Garnett, borough councillor for Dedham and Langham, said the closure of the Crown Street pub was “a great shame” and hoped a new landlord could be found to run it.

He said: “Its closure will be a loss to the village, but obviously the villagers haven’t been frequenting it enough for it to be profitable.

“We’ve never had any problems from the pub and I’ve always found the landlady to be very helpful. “I wish her the best of luck.”