A landlord has spoken of his shock at a mass brawl that erupted outside his pub.

Owner of the Royal Oak, in Teddington High Street, Peter Cova said it was a quiet evening with about 30 customers in the pub before the fight started outside at 9.50pm on Saturday, November 10.

He said he noticed a large group of people had started to gather outside and a few of them had come in for drinks.

He said: “A few popped in but the majority stayed outside. They didn’t look like our usual clientele.

“Many of them had been walking down with glasses and bottles from other venues.”

Mr Cova said the fight suddenly broke out and a member of his staff phoned the police when they realised the situation was out of control.

He said: “Literally five minutes before this incident erupted two ladies walked into the pub. If there was an aggressive atmosphere in here I would suggest they wouldn’t have come in.

“What we could have done to prevent this I really don’t know.”

The Royal Oak opened eight weeks ago after refurbishment on Thursday, September 20, and Mr Cova said the pub was food led and targeted a family audience.

Richmond Council ordered Mr Cova to temporarily close the pub because of the brawl, which police linked to a murder investigation following the death of Patrick Lawless later that night.

He said: “I am as shocked as everyone else. Not having been in Teddington that long I didn’t expect that to be going on.

“It’s really not what I am about. To be slapped with a licence review and closure for a week we do feel wronged.”

The council imposed extra measures on the pub, including a reduction in opening hours and employing two door security staff, until a full license review hearing can take place.

Police assured residents they arrived in Teddington within seven minutes of receiving reports of a fight.

A police spokesman said when officers arrived in the high street the brawl outside the Royal Oak had ended and most people were drinking in the street.

The spokesman said: “Police arrived within seven minutes of receiving the original call, with a significant number of units.

“We prioritised two individuals who had been injured.

“Police did not witness a huge brawl and whilst this was the information given, people were not fighting at the point at which police were at the location.”

The spokesman said officers remained at the scene for the rest of the evening and were alerted to a seriously injured man lying in nearby Field Lane at 12.30am on Sunday, November 11.

Police denied claims from residents that an earlier rugby match in Twickenham affected response time as they said it was a completely separate policing operation and was several hours earlier.

Police also said there was no record of calls from residents who may have been concerned about the unusually large group in the high street until the report of a fight that they responded to.