'Threats made with carving knife in drunken brawl during Christmas party at London youth club'

Brawl: The violence allegedly took place at the upstairs bar
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Mark Chandler9 April 2016
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A Christmas party at a London youth club descended into violence which saw people allegedly threatened with a carving knife, it emerged this week.

Several committee members have already resigned from the Roehampton Youth Club Supporters Association, in south-west London, after the fight broke out at the venue’s upstairs bar in Holybourne Road on Boxing Day last year.

In written evidence to Wandsworth council, Police Sergeant Wayne Humphrey said the fracas initially started at the club bar between a committee member and another person.

Other drinkers were alleged to have got involved in the brawl, which lasted for several minutes and spilled out into the hallway, police claimed.

During the violence, one person fell backwards and slammed their head into a table.

One of the men involved left, only to return around 25 minutes later with two friends, it was claimed.

After their arrival there was a call to police claiming people were being threatened with a carving knife, a licensing report said.

Police say that, when they arrived, they found up to 20 drunken people.

The report, produced ahead of a licensing review called for by the Met, highlighted concerns about “intoxication levels of the customers, the actions of some of the club’s committee members, an apparent lack of regard for the law and the willingness on behalf of the club and its members to hide the incident from the police.”

It said: “The police, therefore, have no confidence in the ability of the club committee to operate the club in a responsible and robust manner.

They demanded additional security measures at the venue, including CCTV cameras and a logbook to keep track of incidents at the club.

But a Wandsworth council licensing committee was told the club had already taken steps to address the concerns of police.

A council spokesman said: “Councillors told the club’s management that they needed to comply with all of the conditions proposed by the police and gave them a three month deadline to do so.

“Failure to meet this deadline would be viewed as a serious matter.”

The club committee have not responded to requests for comment.

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