ASHBURTON’S mayor was left in shock after being showered with broken glass

during a vandalism attack on a wine bar in the town.

Alison Irens was celebrating her husband Nigel’s birthday with an evening meal when all hell broke loose.

The town’s first citizen was unhurt after the sudden outburst outside the No.14

venue in North Street just before 8.30pm on Saturday.

The suspect was detained by police at the scene and taken by officers to Torbay

Hospital after being injured in a skirmish immediately afterwards.

The 26-year-old local man was subsequently arrested and later charged with causing criminal damage to a property and of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, believed to be an iron bar.

Mrs Irens did not wish to discuss the incident.

Ashburton town clerk Bruce Broughton told the Mid-Devon Advertiser: ‘She was understandably very shocked and shaken up by what happened over the weekend. It’s not something she can talk about at the moment.’

He added that the council had worked hard with other agencies over the years to

deal with elements of social unrest in the town – and the policies in place had been

working well.

Mr Broughton revealed that the weekend drama would be discussed at a council committee meeting on Wednesday, in particular concerns about the time it

allegedly took for police to get to the scene after the suspect had been detained

by members of the public.

A police spokesman confirmed that a 26-year-old man had been charged with

two offences connected with the Saturday disturbance.

He appeared before Plymouth magistrates on Monday when he was bailed for a further court appearance in Newton Abbot at the beginning of next month.