Shocking moment violent brawl broke out between colleagues at Christmas party in Tower Hill

Hatty Collier11 August 2017
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This is the shocking moment a violent brawl broke out between colleagues during a Christmas party at a pub in central London.

The footage, released by City of London police, shows the construction workers fighting at the Liberty Bounds pub near Tower Hill.

Armendi Dokle, 35, from Ilford, and 37-year-old Durim Beqiri, from Newham bottled and punched their work colleague when an argument descended into violence three days before Christmas.

Their 29-year-old victim was left with a three-inch gash to his head.

Pub brawl: The fight broke out at a Christmas party at a pub in Tower Hill
City of London Police

They both pleaded guilty to one count of actual bodily harm and were each sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and ordered to pay £100 compensation and a £115 victim surcharge.

City of London magistrates’ court heard how the fight broke out shortly after 2.30pm on Thursday December 22 2016 in the middle of the ground floor bar of the pub in Trinity Square.

The pub was packed with people celebrating Christmas and the group of colleagues, all construction workers, were sitting at a table opposite the bar when a confrontation developed between Beqiri, who had drunk and eight bottles of beer and two shots, and the victim, the court heard.

Violent fight: Two men have been convicted of ABH

Beqiri argued with the victim before Dokle threw a bottle at his head. Dokle then grabbed another bottle and hit him again before Beqiri grabbed a pint glass and slammed it towards him.

The court was told the fight was broken up by the rest of the group and other customers, while staff called police. The victim was taken to Royal London Hospital with a deep cut on his head.

Jailed: Armendi Dokle
City of London Police

Beqiri and Dokle, who had drunk ten bottles of beer, were arrested at the scene. Beqiri initially claimed he was acting in self-defence but when shown the CCTV admitted he was wrong and felt “ashamed”.

They were sentenced on July 31 this year.

Jailed: Durim Beqiri
City of London Police

Detective Constable Joe Farrell from City of London Police, said: “This was a nasty and violent attack which left the victim with a serious head injury. Luckily, he has now recovered, but the effects of this attack could have been far worse.

“We want people to enjoy themselves when they are out in the City’s bars, pubs and clubs, especially during the festive season, but this is a prime example of how some people can drink too much and become violent, which awful consequences.”

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