A LANDLORD has praised how staff and customers reacted to a pub fight which left a man seriously injured in hospital.

Tom Pauling, landlord of the Red Lion in Witney, said his door staff were quick to act when the dance floor attack started in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He also said one of the customers was an off-duty nurse and helped to treat the wounded man before paramedics arrived.

He said: “I am extremely proud of my staff and customers and the way that they handled the situation.

“If it was not for the door staff reacting so quickly, it could have been much worse.”

The pub landlord said he had handed CCTV footage to the police and urged anyone with information about the attack to come forward.

He said: “We wish the very best to the victim and his family and friends.”

The victim, a man in his early 30s, suffered head and body injuries in the attack at the Corn Street pub.

Thames Valley Police have said he remains in a serious but stable condition at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

Mr Pauling, landlord of the pub for more than two years, said the room where the assault took place was closed off for the night after the incident.

And he said he had not seen anything like it in his time behind the bar. He added: “The entire room was shut down.

“There will be scuffles. There will be in any town. But never anything like this. It is very rare for things to escalate to a point where a pub gets partly shut down for an evening.

“Words cannot explain how appalled I am with the behaviour.

“It has never happened in this pub since I have been here. We are shocked that something like this could have happened.”

David Hopkins, 39, of Hazeldene Close, Eynsham, has been bailed to appear at Oxford Crown Court on May 12 charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.