A PUB landlord has been stripped of his licence because of serious fire safety breaches.

Robert Falconer of The Tub in Cambridge Road, Hastings, has had his licence removed after a review launched by East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.

An inspection by fire officers last year found the venue had not been fire risk assessed, the automatic fire detection system and emergency lighting were not being maintained, there was inadequate staff training and a failure to maintain firefighting equipment.

Venue bosses were given six months to right their failings but they did not respond as requested and so in January, the fire service called for a licence review.

Sussex Police had also raised a number of concerns over the past year about underage customers, behaviour of door staff and the use of drugs with high levels of cocaine traces found by swabs of toilets and bar tables.

The venue was previously known as The Union Bar before changing their name to the Tub in September.

Officers had also found lumps of excrement on a sofa cushion in the bar.

Despite the failings, the police licensing team only requested the licence be suspended.

But following a Hastings Borough Council licence sub-committee hearing earlier this month, councillors found the venue’s management was not upholding its licensing objectives and was putting customers and the tenant living at the pub in danger.

James Portnell, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s fire safety hub manager, said: “The safety of relevant persons in any premises is the primary concern of the fire and rescue service and the failure of the license holder to ensure that a suitable fire risk assessment had been completed put people at risk."