THE family of a man who killed a customer outside their North- East pub have seen its opening hours dramatically reduced.

Durham Police were monitoring the Beehive, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, before Maurice Rowell, 27, killed Stephen Wilson, 48, early on August 10, 2009.

Yesterday, a police application to revoke the licence at Durham County Council’s Spennymoor offices failed – but did result in several changes.

As well as closing three hours earlier at weekends, the licensing committee decided that a licence holder must be present at all times after hearing Rowell’s sister, Rachel Rowell, the designated premises supervisor, had left when Mr Wilson was hurt.

Mr Wilson died of injuries resulting from a single punch.

Miss Rowell cited the evening of Mr Wilson’s death as proof that she and her mother, Linda Rowell, another licence holder, were competent managers.

She said: “We didn’t have to have door supervisors on according to the licence, but we knew it was going to be busy and we are competent enough to know how to run our business.”

Police solicitor Stephen Mooney said there had been 17 assaults reported in and around the pub between January 2009 and November, last year. Ten were after midnight, all but one was at the weekend and a number involved extreme acts of violence,”

he said.

One of those incidents involved the owner’s son, Rowell, 27, who was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for seven years in December 2009, later reduced to six on appeal.

Mrs Rowell said many incidents took place in what is known colloquially as “the Beehive car park”, but which has nothing to do with the pub.

Since April, police said they knew of six teenagers illegally sold alcohol in the pub and found further drunk youngsters during a 16th birthday party, held on June 26.

Mrs Rowell’s husband, Maurice Rowell senior, admitted serving two minors alcohol during a test purchase operation on May 20. He was fined £100 and costs.

Mrs Rowell said the pub, which previously used the Challenge 21 scheme, had now adopted the Challenge 25 scheme.

She said children at the birthday party had “stashed” drink outside the pub.

The pub is no longer allowed to admit under-18s after 9pm and opening hours for the premises are now Sunday to Thursday, 11am to 11pm, and Fridays and Saturdays, 11am to midnight.