THE owners of a County Durham club have agreed to surrender their licence.

But the Leather Cap Sports and Social Club in Easington Colliery will still be able to operate as a members only club.

Both the club's premises licence and its club premises certificate were reviewed by a Durham County Council licensing committee.

The review followed an alleged assault on March 3 which resulted in a man’s jaw being broken in two places after he was ejected from a meeting of the Royal British Legion.

Michael and Anne Walsh bought the derelict club, formerly the Easington Colliery Official’s Club, in 2015 as a retirement project and it now has around 185 members.

Mr Walsh, 65, told councillors he initially got a premises licence, of which his wife was the designated premises supervisor (DPS), to attract trade but is now in a position to operate solely as a club.

It means only members and their guests will be able to drink at the club in Browning Street.

The committee heard the assault happened after the first meeting of the Easington branch of the Royal British Legion, of which Mr Walsh, a former soldier, is chairman.

Mrs Walsh was seen on CCTV watching the assault but did not call the police, according to their statement.

Jonathan Walker, solicitor for Durham Police, said: “Clearly, the police take seriously the allegations that have been raised.

“The concerns as far as March 3 is concerned are the manner in which the club is run and the approach of the DPS.

"We would welcome the steps the club are proposing to make.”

Initially, police asked for both the certificate and licence to be revoked, but removed the representation after new conditions were agreed, including having CCTV, an incident book and a requirement to report incidents to police.

Charles Holland, a lawyer representing the club, said: “The club has been trouble free with this one particular exception, which was a bolt out of the blue.

"But it was a bolt that caused Mrs Walsh a degree of personal concern and she is happy to surrender the licence.”

The review was held after a man and his mother, who lives opposite the club, reported the assault to police.

The man said he has since been subject to a campaign of harassment and racial abuse by club members.

He claimed he had been called a “foreign scum bag” and “evil, dirty low life” in a message from a friend of Mr Walsh.

Saying he feared for his life, he added: “I want to ensure the area is safe and all the families can live a normal life.”

Mr Walsh said he was “not happy” about the message, which had been sent to the man. He added: “I understood how it came about. He made vile, disgusting comments about club members, calling them alcoholics and druggies. It was a tirade of insults.”

Four club members attended in support. Committee member Paul Knox, 63, described Mr and Mrs Walsh as “very kind and considerate”.

He said: “It’s the best club around Easington district.”