A PRIVATE party was shut down after a gang of up to 20 men began attacking the venue.

Men turned up and started throwing missiles at the Al Duomo restaurant in Brighton while a private party, understood to have been booked by students, was underway.

A doorman at the restaurant in Pavilion Gardens, said at first there were about five men outside but that soon increased to 20 and they “started throwing bricks.”

A member of staff, who did not want to be named, said: “I think they had some problem with one of the people inside. That is why they started to attack from outside.

“Then they started to throw things – stones or something like that – and one of the security guards got a cut on his hand.

“They were trying to enter but they did not manage to get through.

“After that we had to shut the event and finish it straight away.”

The fracas happened in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Police said the men dispersed from outside the restaurant and enquiries are ongoing.

One witness said the men reappeared outside the restaurant later on when police were at the scene.

She added: “One of the door team was injured. A brick had hit his hand and it was bandaged up. He was getting into an ambulance.”

A Sussex Police spokesman confirmed police had been called at 12.25am to a report of a large group of men causing trouble at the restaurant.

He confirmed one security guard had suffered a hand injury and there were reports a brick had been thrown.

He added: “The group made off. Police are investigating.”

South East Coast Ambulance Service confirmed paramedics were called at 1.10am to Al Duomo to reports that a man in his thirties had cuts around his knuckles and his hand.

A spokesman added: “He was treated at the scene and taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital.”