Landlord's plea after brawl machete and gun brawl at pub

A Manchester pub which was shut down earlier this year after a huge brawl 'involving a machete and a gun' has faced another blow in its bid to reopen. Floyd Dodoo, who grew up on the Monsall estate where the Queens Hotel is located, has been told he cannot take over the pub if it get its licence back.

Police said the local publican who already manages two pubs in the area would be spreading himself too thin if he took over the premises in Sedgeford Road. It comes as the current owners of the pub wait for their appeal of Manchester council's decision to revoke their licence earlier this year to be heard in court.

The Vine pub on Glendower Drive also had its licence temporarily suspended following the incident on March 12 - which was thought to be connected to organised crime groups, according to GMP - but has since been reopened.

Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link

Speaking at a town hall hearing on Friday (June 9), Mr Dodoo questioned why other pubs in the area who serve the same customers have not suffered a similar fate as the Queens Hotel. And he told councillors that if the pub which he has visited all his life is allowed to reopen, he would be best placed to run it.

He said: "If there's anyone who can run that pub, I'm the man. I'm the one. If I can't, then no one can do it."

Mr Dodoo told the licensing sub-committee that he grew up in Monsall, knows 'virtually everyone there' and if he ends up running the pub which his family frequents, he would move into his mother's home which is '10 seconds' away. He told the panel he has 25 years of experience in the night-time economy.

However, PC Alan Isherwood said that GMP is concerned Mr Dodoo would be spreading himself 'too thin'