Lady of the Lake, in Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, damaged after affray incident at under 18s disco

A Lowestoft pub has suffered ‘extensive damage’ after an incident at an under 18s disco over the weekend.

Suffolk Police is investigating an incident of affray in the car park of The Lady of the Lake, in Bridge Road, Oulton Broad, on Friday.

Steve Thornton, the pub’s owner, said a number of fights broke out during the evening, which resulted in smashed windows, including in the ladies’ toilets, a dartboard being taken off the wall and a wooden flower bed being damaged.

Mr Thornton hired five door staff for the event, some of whom were assaulted by being punched or smacked.

He said the pub had hosted five previous underage events which had steadily grown in popularity – although this was the first to reach capacity, with about 150 attendees.

He said: “As a pub, we were professional and did all we could, including having lots of door staff, confiscating bags and turning away drunk children.

“However, there was only so much we could do, and anything done off the premises we cannot control.”

Mr Thornton said the pub would no longer host under 18s discos as he did not want to risk his licence.

“I’m a family man myself with teenage children and I wanted to provide a service for them and give them a chance to go out and have a nice time,” he said.

“Most of the children who attended were very well behaved and caused no issues.

“I’m really disappointed at the few who ruined it for everyone else.”

Mr Thornton said there had been an outpouring of support from the community after the event, including from local businesses.

After undertaking initial repairs, the pub reopened as normal on Saturday morning.

A spokesman for Suffolk Police confirmed that the incident took place at an event for under 18s.

He said: “We are investigating an affray that took place in the car park of the Lady of the Lake on Friday night.

“The inquiry is ongoing.”

Anyone who can aid the investigation should get in touch with Suffolk Police, quoting crime reference, 37/12630/25.