I have been a regular at The Toby for more than ten years.
The two unrelated incidents which took place on July 1 and 7 were very serious - but the damage was done by people from outside the Woodingdean area.
Its reputation as a "trouble pub" is quite unjustified. The regulars are always friendly and very sociable. It may not look much from outside but we should never judge a book by its cover.
The Argus reported the police received 33 calls about incidents at The Toby within the past 12 months. While the number is correct, ten of those calls were made on July 1 and ten on July 7 from people in the pub asking for help from a police force which took more than 15 minutes to respond.
Surely it would have been better to report the number of visits the police made in 12 months? I would guess it would be about five, significantly less than 33.
I cannot believe The Toby is any worse than other local pubs around Brighton and Hove. It is unfair the regulars who use the pub as a social centre have had that privilege taken away.
unruly people have ever actually set foot in it. I seriously doubt it.
A petition of more than 500 signatures to keep the pub open was raised but was not considered when Brighton and Hove City Council took the decision to revoke the licence.
Perhaps those who have criticised The Toby in the past would like to say what type of pub they would prefer. Then we can set about appealing to the brewery to provide us with that facility We are not prepared to see south Woodingdean's only remaining amenity left derelict for months then eventually turned into flats.
-Luke Smith, Woodingdean
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