Pub brawl: 7 charged (From Penarth Times)

Pub brawl: 7 charged

Pub brawl: 7 charged

IN a week when the police announced a big drop in crime in the Vale, seven men appeared before Barry magistrates in connection with alleged violence at a Penarth pub.

Penarth police were called to the Railway Public House on Plymouth Road at around 10pm on Monday night and made eight arrests following a brawl.

Seven men were subsequently charged with offences, and one was released without charge.

Richard Pace, aged 20, of Redhouse Road, Cardiff, was charged with affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

Ioan Mansaray, aged 22, of Redlands Road, Penarth; Christopher James, aged 22, of Court Road, Cardiff; Michael Stokes, aged 20, of Ty Coch Road, Cardiff; Steven Morgan, aged 20, of Vachell Road, Cardiff; Wesley Reekie, aged 19, of Bluebell Drive, Cardiff; and Simeon Reekie, of Bluebell Drive, Cardiff, were all charged with affray.

Simeon Reekie was also charged with shoplifting from the Spar shop in Penarth.

South Wales police have just released figures which show crime in the Vale has fallen by 10.2 per cent in the past year.

The biggest drop is in car theft, which is down by a huge 35.4 per cent.

The number of robberies committed in the Vale fell by 32.1 per cent and theft from motor vehicles was down by 11.3 per cent.

The number of home burglaries dropped by 16.6 per cent and violent crime was 5.3 per cent lower than in the previous year.

The figures for the Vale reflect those for the whole of South Wales, with reported crime down by 9.4 per cent in comparison with last year, which means there are 12,951 fewer victims of crime in the area.

Chief Constable Barbara Wilding said: "These annual figures highlight the efforts we, and the communities of South Wales have made to improve the safety of South Wales.

"Such work has had a major impact on the number of victims of crime, and we continue to be committed to reducing crime year on year.

"We have found that in fighting common causes of violent crimes, for example drug trafficking and alcohol related crime, we have brought instances of violence against the person and robbery down."

In December officers carried out a series of raids across the Vale of Glamorgan, seizing more than £400,000 worth of controlled drugs with 15 arrests made.