A COUNCIL has backed the landlady of an under fire town pub saying she is “doing all she can” to turn around its fortunes.

In December the Warwick Arms Pub in High Street, Maldon, had its premises licence suspended for 28 days and stricter conditions added to its licence after police received 39 intelligence reports about the venue.

Last month the pub applied to Maldon District Council to vary its licence to allow landlady Andrea Saffill to be made Designated Premises Supervisor or DSP.

A DSP is a person who has responsibility for the running of the business and acts as primary contact for the council and the police.

But Essex Police objected to the plan saying Mrs Saffill had not done enough to prevent incidents of disorder at the pub.

Speaking at a licensing hearing last week, Nigel Dermott, licensing officer for Essex Police, said there had been 12 crime intelligence reports this year in relation to the pub.

Mr Dermott said the force was not confident in Mrs Saffill’s ability.

He said; “In the opinion of Essex police, we have no choice when it comes to this appeal but to reject the application.

“We feel that there has been very little change.”

But Mrs Saffill said she was being blamed for incidents elsewhere on the high street which were out of her control.

She said: “The neighbours around us have said it is a totally different situation.

“Drugs are rife everywhere. It is really the hardest thing to control in this country.”

Steve Hawkins, a friend and character witness said Mrs Saffill was a “fit and proper” person who was capable of running the pub.

Maldon District Council agreed to allow Mrs Saffill to become the DSP.

Chairman for the meeting councillor Mandy Thomson said: “We were very concerned to hear about the incidents that occurred since December 2017 relating to the Warwick Arms.

“These do show ongoing problems with the public house.

“However we accept that Mrs Saffill has cooperated with the police in relation to the CCTV footage and it came out in evidence that the persons involved in one incident have been banned.

“We believe that Mrs Saffill is doing all she can in a difficult situation.”