A popular Kent pub has narrowly avoided being shut down after a man suffered a serious head injury on a busy Saturday night.

Police called for a review of the Warden Bay's premises licence following reports of an assault at the Isle of Sheppey pub on August 27.

A man from the island was arrested on suspicion of GBH without intent after the incident, which occurred on the day of a tribute music festival.

His alleged victim suffered injuries not deemed to be life-threatening, shortly before 11.30pm.

Kent Police applied for the Jetty Road pub's licence to be suspended ahead of a full review hearing this week, which would have temporarily prevented it from operating.

But at an interim hearing on September 2, members of Swale Borough Council's licensing sub-committee instead accepted an application to remove the pub's owner, Chris Prime, from his position as its Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) - essentially the person who has day-to-day responsibility for the running the business.

Yvonne O'Regan was appointed the new DPS and the pub was allowed to continue trading ahead of this week's review, which was held largely behind closed doors on Monday because of an ongoing police investigation into the events of August 27.

A notice pinned to the door of the pub had informed customers the licence was being reviewed because a senior police officer believed the pub to be associated with serious crime or serious disorder - or both.

"We, like everyone else who uses the pub, are always made to feel welcome with the friendly atmosphere as you walk through the doors..."

One angry regular wrote in its defence: "My family and I have been using the establishment for over 20 years and I feel the above statement is completely false and inaccurate.

"We, like everyone else who uses the pub, are always made to feel welcome with the friendly atmosphere as you walk through the doors.

"We have always held our family events at the pub, including my parents' wedding reception, special birthdays and all my eldest daughter's birthday parties because of the friendly atmosphere.

"The Warden Bay is the heart of the community. It brings people together and [is] somewhere for people to go and talk. Even if you are on your own and lonely, you are never on your own or lonely in this place."

Another customer wrote: "We have used this pub ever since we moved to the area and have never seen any trouble in the pub.

"We go there on a regular basis and have no hesitation in taking family members or grandchildren in there with us.

"It is a family pub and they do many things free of charge for families and charities, and this would be so unfair to be closed down for this one incident.

"This place is a vital hub for our community."

The licensing sub-committee decided against stripping Mr Prime of his premises licence, and instead imposed a raft of new conditions he had agreed to with police.

They state that all staff must receive conflict training, and in the event of any violence the police must be called immediately and the crime scene "preserved so as to enable a full forensic investigation to be carried out".

Risk assessments must take also place before big events, with at least two door supervisors employed throughout and the police alerted in advance.

Sub-committee chair Cllr Mike Whiting said: "The licensing sub-committee welcome the co-operation between the premises licence holder and the police. Nonetheless, they were concerned about the incident that had occurred, and serious consideration was given to the revocation of the licence

“However, in the circumstances, it was not considered that this was the appropriate step at this time”.

In its decision notice, and referencing the night of August 27, the panel said it "recognised that this was a standalone incident and the premises had a long history without other concerns being raised by the responsible authorities".

However, it added that should there be further police calls for a review "revocation would be a likely and foreseeable outcome".

Mr Prime was contacted by KentOnline but declined to comment.

Police say a 39-year-old man arrested in connection with the incident on August 27 remains under investigation pending further enquiries.