A seaside town’s only hotel is at risk of losing its alcohol licence after people were chased with weapons, suspected drugs were found hidden in a disabled toilet cistern, and staff failed to report serious assaults.

Kent Police has requested Swale Borough Council review the premises licence for the Royal Hotel in Sheerness, and has called for it to be revoked.

In the application, licensing officer PC Andre Smuts writes that the force has been “increasingly concerned about the operation of the premises” since it was transferred to the current owners at the end of 2024.

In April 2024, the pub and hotel was listed for sale on Rightmove for £750,000.

Since then, Ramesh Rajathurai has taken over as the designated premises supervisor (DPS), and is the director of company The Charles Royal Hotel Ltd, which holds the premises licence.

PC Smuts’ report details a litany of crimes and disorder at the venue since Mr Rajathurai took it over.

“There have been multiple serious incidents, including assaults where victims were rendered unconscious,” he wrote.

“On one occasion, individuals associated with the premises were observed chasing a person down the street while in possession of weapons.

“Despite a mandatory licence condition requiring the reporting of all incidents of crime and disorder, several of these events were not reported to Kent Police, constituting a clear breach of licence conditions.”

Under the conditions, the pub must supply the police with CCTV footage when asked, but the application documents say the pub failed to do so “on several occasions.”

On August 22, Kent Police sent a warning letter to the Royal Hotel, suggesting it implement door security staff.

While the business said it would “consider” having them on Friday nights, “no door supervisors have been observed to date”.

During a police operation involving drug dogs at the premises on May 16, several people were seen “fleeing the premises and one male was found in possession of suspected Class A drugs,” the report says.

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A second drugs operation on September 26 revealed an “escalation in drug-related activity”.

The report said: “A female was arrested for possession of suspected cocaine and for assaulting a police officer and a police dog.

“Numerous individuals were searched, the most ever conducted at one venue during such an operation, which we run county-wide, with many of the patrons displaying hostility towards police officers.

“Further searches within the disabled toilet area found around 16 transparent bags which are suspected to have contained cocaine hidden within the cistern of the toilet.”

Despite multiple requests for it, the business then failed to provide the CCTV to the police, the report states, and the pub did not respond to a police request to make door security a mandatory condition of the licence.

On October 11, one fight allegedly included somebody attempting to run over a woman in their car.

PC Smuts writes: “A further incident was reported involving a fight outside the premises.

“Council CCTV captured staff attempting to calm the situation, with individuals drinking from glasses and bottles outside.

“A related call described a female victim fleeing and seeking help from residents, with a vehicle reportedly attempting to strike her. Again, the premises failed to report this incident.”

Kent Police is requesting that the council strips Mr Rajathurai and the premises of its licence, which would leave it unable to sell alcohol or open late.

The manager of the hotel declined to comment at this time.

SBC’s licensing panel will meet with police and the licence holders in a meeting at 10.30am on Wednesday, December 3, to make the final call on the hotel’s licence.