Mickey Mouse visited The Red Lion in Pontefract according to test and trace data, West Yorkshire Police say

The name of the cartoon character was supplied by a customer visiting The Red Lion in Pontefract earlier this year, officers reported.

The pub could now lose its licence after several "serious incidents" this year both before and after the first lockdown, according to a report going before Wakefield Council.

Police claim The Red Lion's then management repeatedly flouted strict rules introduced after pubs were allowed to reopen on July 4.

A report by licensing officer PC Toby Warden said the authorities visited the pub for the third time in a week on July 10 and "found numerous issues where the premises didn't comply with the guidance given".

The report added: "One main issue noted was control of the track and trace information.

"There was no evidence of this being filled in on the opening night, other pages with no dates and one particular name of note on the register was 'Mickey Mouse', showing that nothing had been put into place to control this book or the data inside."

Officers returned to the venue the following night but found again that "guidelines were not being applied".

PC Warden also highlighted a series of incidents which they said had not been reported to the police, but were subsequently picked up by CCTV.

One of these involved a, "Male and female having an altercation, which ended up with the pool table being overturned".

On a separate occasion, the report said a "young vulnerable female" was so heavily intoxicated she had to be carried from the premises after previously being "ignored" by staff.

Police have asked for the pub to be stripped of its booze licence.

A hearing is due to take place on December 15 to establish what measures, if any, may be taken against premises.

The pub is owned by West Midlands-based company The EI Group, which runs around 4,500 venues across the UK.

In a letter published alongside the other reports, the firm's solicitors said EI had "no operational responsibility for the premises", adding "We take a wholly neutral stance to the allegations".

They said: "On the basis of the information given within the review application, it is not clear whether the premises licence holder was on site at the time of the incidents contained within.

"It is clear however that mistakes were made and some of the incidents seen by the police on the CCTV should have been reported to them."

"It appears that the causes of (the) review are training/reporting related."

The company said it believed an "appropriate response" to the issues would be a programme of staff training with extra emphasis on reporting incidents to the police.

An EI Group spokesperson added: "We are aware of the application for review of the Premises Licence at The Red Lion in Pontefract, of which we are the freehold owner, and will continue to work with the police and local licensing authority to reach a mutually agreeable outcome."

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