No action will be taken against the Wetherspoons in Wisbech after concerns about the pub were raised.

A councillor claimed staff at The Wheatsheaf Inn, in Church Terrace, had failed to keep a customer safe who was being “harassed” by others.

However, this was disputed by representatives of the pub, who said the intervention of the manager had meant there was no escalation of violence on the night in question.

Fenland District Council held a hearing this week (October 22) to consider a review of the pub’s premises licence.

The meeting was held in private at the request of Councillor Samantha Hoy who said she wanted to protect one of her witnesses from repercussions.

Papers published ahead of the meeting revealed the nature of the concerns being raised.

Cllr Hoy, who had applied for the licence review, said: “The premise has not upheld the licensing objectives as [it] failed to keep safe a patron, this could have led to wider disorder in the area and serious injury.”

She claimed a young man had raised concerns with her about an incident at the pub.

She said he had been at The Wheatsheaf Inn with a group of friends, when she alleged they were harassed by another group who she said had “tried to start a fight with them”.

Cllr Hoy claimed the young man tried to raise concerns about what was happening with bar staff, but said he did not receive any help.

Cllr Hoy said the pub had a “duty to protect its customers” when a concern was raised, but claimed in this case that did not happen.

However, no concerns about the pub were raised by any of the responsible authorities, including the police.

The decision notice issued after the hearing summarised Wetherspoon representative’s position on the issues raised.

It said a representative of the premises licence holder had said the pub was a long established premises and was run by a “stable and experienced management team”.

They said there were “well-developed policies” that were adhered to on the night and that there had been no escalation and that violence was avoided due to the intervention of the manager.

They said staff were trained in dealing with vulnerable people and that there had been no crime of breach of licensing conditions.

The sub-committee ultimately decided not to take any action against the pub, after hearing the arguments from both sides.

The sub-committee said: “We sympathise with [redacted]. We note that no criminal offence has been prosecuted and we have not heard any information regarding a breach of a licensing condition.

“We do not believe there is any wider risk to members of the public.

“We are of the opinion that there may have been different ways in dealing with the situation according to who was on duty that night, not necessarily the wrong or right ways.

“Our decision, therefore, is to take no further action.”