Northampton landlord considering quitting after being '˜strangled' by female customer

Darren Knagg, landlord of the Fiddler's pub, in Wellingborough Road, Northampton, is considering leaving the industry after he was attacked by a customer

Darren Knagg, aged 40, who runs The Fiddler’s in Wellingborough Road, says he was allegedly attacked after he helped his bouncers eject a man who had spat at a woman shortly after midnight on Saturday, February 27.

Mr Knagg claimed, as he was taking the man out the pub door, a woman then grabbed his t-shirt from behind and pulled it tightly around his neck.

In front of a crowd of customers, Mr Knagg said he was struggling to breath as the woman pulled him along the floor.

Darren Knagg, landlord of The Fiddlers pub in Northampton, suffered a facial injury after he was attacked by a female customer

The woman’s grip was eventually loosened after Mr Knagg’s wife and a barmaid managed to pull her away, although not before she also grabbed hold of their hair.

Police were called out to the pub and a man and a woman were arrested and taken into custody.

However, Mr Knagg has now been informed that officers believe there is insufficient evidence to charge either of the people arrested.

Despite only being a landlord at The Fiddlers for only 10 months, Mr Knagg said he had noticed an increasing level of violence being used towards him and his staff in Northampton.

Darren Knagg, landlord of The Fiddlers pub in Northampton, suffered neck injuries after he was attacked by a female customer

The landlord said he was now considering leaving the industry as he was struggling to deal with the number of acts of physical violence he dealt with.

He said: “I have been in this industry for 20 years and I we should not have to face this danger in the workplace.

“The perpetrators of violence should be dealt with.

“I felt I was defenceless as I could not breath and she was gouging my face and hitting me.

“I am thinking of walking away from it all.”

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said officers were called out to a report of an assault at the Fiddlers at about 12.50am on Saturday and a 34-year-old woman and 36-year-old man were arrested in connection with the incident.

The spokesman said: “An investigation has taken place, which has included viewing CCTV footage as well as speaking to witnesses, and at this stage there is insufficient evidence to charge either of the people arrested.

“Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident can contact police on 101.”

Mr Knagg said the quality of the CCTV of the incident had been quite grainy as the disco strobe lights and the amount of people in the pub made it difficult to see clearly what had happened.

The landlord said he was planning to look at the footage on a different set of CCTV cameras in the pub to see if they provided a better quality image of the incident.