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Since gladiators fought, observing organised brutality and sports generally has been part of civilised society. Why? Because we feel safe in the knowledge it is regulated and the participants qualified in their art.

This makes great entertainment; whether at home in front of the television, enjoying an amateur boxing night or watching the football at our local.

Like my recent visit to the Tawny Owl for half of beer to catch the Blackburn v’s Manchester United.

I hadn’t been for years, since witnessing a postal worker attacked by a hooligan for no apparent reason. Nevertheless, I gave it a go.

Recently refurbished, I noticed the large bar, good pool tables and… heads turned towards the space where apparently, a fight had just kicked off.

The perpetrator – a young woman, clearly intoxicated, was targeting random customers. She walked and stood beside a man near me at the bar, who upon asking her to stop swearing received a back fist to his chin.

As I retreated, she targeted a 6’4”, muscle bound young man who politely asked her to calm down and artfully dodged the fist in reply.

Why write this? Because I felt uncomfortable, concerned and ultimately appalled that the staff or more specifically, the relief manager, did nothing.

While the young man persisted in trying to calm the lout, locals demanded staff action, responding to which a bar woman explained that the relief manager wouldn’t come down to serve beer, let alone sort out a problem.

Eventually our young hero lost his patience and, to a round of applause, ejected the pitiful woman from the premises.

Next the ‘manager’ entered the bar area and in response to customer complaints, said she knew what had happened having watched events on CCTV! Why hadn’t she dialled 999 for assistance?

Reflecting on my first visit in years, it had not been an organised spectator event; I had felt ill at ease and left, frankly astonished, that a member of the public had to maintain order while staff cowered behind the bar.

However, fault for this shameful exhibition rests with neither the junior workers nor even the timid relief manager but fairly and squarely at the operator’s door.

Don’t they train their staff that it is unlawful to serve an intoxicated person. Don’t they realise they have a pub in a decent area.

So, shame on the area manger and directors for their incompetence.