Appeal for witnesses following altercation outside of the One Eyed Dog Pub, Portsmouth

Officers investigating a public order incident outside of the One Eyed Dog on Elm Grove, Southsea, late (Wednesday 29 December) are appealing for anyone who was in the immediate area at the time to come forward.

Patrolling officers noticed a fight involving approximately 20 people taking place outside of the premises shortly before midnight.

Officers stopped to assist and on attendance one of them, an officer in his 30s, was assaulted causing a serious injury to his face. He was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital for treatment and has since been discharged.

The group dispersed and officers have arrested four people in connection with this incident.

A 22-year-old man from Portsmouth was arrested on suspicion of affray, Section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a controlled drug of Class A. He has been released from police custody with no further action being taken against him.

A 23-year-old man from Portsmouth has been arrested on suspicion of affray, Section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a controlled drug of Class A.

A 24-year-old man from Havant has been arrested on suspicion of Section 18 Grievous Bodily Harm with intent and a 24-year-old man from Waterlooville has been arrested on suspicion of affray. All three remain in police custody at this time.

An investigation is underway and police would like to hear from anyone who was at the pub at the time or in the moments before the incident and saw what happened.

Detective Inspector Mark Alleman of Hampshire Constabulary’s Criminal Investigation Department said: “This was a particularly nasty altercation involving a large number of people in a public place, some of whom we’d still like to speak to.

“We believe there are still victims who may have been injured in the incident that are yet to come forward. If this is you, we’d like to hear from you. We also want to hear from anyone who saw what happened, either outside of the pub at the time or in the lead-up to the incident.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting reference 44210519421. Alternatively, you can submit information via the following form: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/