A man assaulted in a Wimbledon pub was left to stand in a corner, dripping in blood, as his attacker was allowed to finish his drink.

Staff at The Alexandra in the Broadway failed to evict the customer who head butted and punched the victim in an unprovoked attack on Friday evening, allowing the regular to continue drinking.

Merton police are now investigating the incident, and the pub has subsequently barred the attacker, but staff have come under fire for their failure to act.

As part of a crackdown on problem drinkers in Wimbledon, licensees across the town centre have the power to barr problem drinkers from all the town centre’s bars and clubs.

Richard Amon, manager of the Watershed and chairman of the Behave or be Banned project, said: “I can’t speak for the Alex, but we just can’t condone behaviour like this.

“Whoever’s in charge should keep an incident log and phone an ambulance and police straight away. We’ll be working alongside police to make sure he’s excluded from the town centre.”

The victim, Matthew Knowles, 36, said: “It was very unnerving. I couldn’t believe he was allowed to carry on drinking in the same pub. He carried on making threats and taunts while he sat in the other bar.

“I spent the night at St George’s Hospital where I had three stitches. I still have a black eye and a headache three days later.”

A spokesman for Young’s Brewery said: “An altercation took place between two customers at the Alexandra on Friday night. Whilst the incident was relatively minor, this makes it no less unwelcome, and an individual has been barred from the pub as a result.

“The manager on duty at the time dealt with the incident as he felt appropriate, and in a manner that was designed to diffuse the situation at the time.”

Wimbledon councillor David Dean said he was “utterly outraged” and as an Alex drinker, would be talking to the owner, the police and Merton’s licensing committee.

"It's simply unacceptable that something like this can happen - there has to be a sea change among publicans in the area," he said.