A Brighton restaurant has lost its late licence after police arrested staff for the way that they dealt with an intruder as well as a series of licensing rule breaches.
Sussex Police asked Brighton and Hove City Council to review the late-night refreshment licence held by Zaf’ron, in North Road, Brighton.
The request followed two nights of violence in August when the same man came in and attacked staff and smashed up the premises. Four staff were arrested.
The decision followed a lengthy hearing on Monday 6 October after the police and the council’s own licensing team called for the review.
A panel of three councillors – Julie Cattell, Sam Parrott and Kerry Pickett – decided to revoke the licence which allowed the business to sell food and soft drinks from 11pm to 3am.
Zaf’ron will now have to close the restaurant to diners and stop serving food for takeaway or delivery by 11pm each night. The business has never sold alcohol.
At the hearing Sussex Police licensing officers spent an hour in private session with the panel and Zaf’ron owner Norulah Habibi, 41, and his representative, the licensing consultant Graham Hopkins.
They discussed the incidents on Friday 1 August and Saturday 2 August which the police are still investigating.
Sussex Police previously said that, on the Friday night, an intruder smashed up the restaurant and attacked staff who took steps to defend themselves.
The perpetrator, a 63-year-old man, from Brighton, accepted a “community resolution”, requiring him to pay for the cost of repairing the damage.
He returned about 24 hours later when he was subdued by staff. The police investigation is understood to be looking at whether the staff went beyond reasonable self-defence in protecting themselves and the premises.
Of the four staff members who were arrested, three remain on police bail. The fourth faces no further action.
Sussex Police licensing officer Mark Thorogood said that the force was concerned about several breaches of licensing conditions by Zaf’ron.
They included reports of trading after 3am, taking five months to join the Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership and a closed-circuit television system that recorded the wrong time.
Mr Thorogood told the panel that at 5.45am on Thursday 3 July an off-duty licensing officer had heard the noise of loud building work coming from the premises.
When Mr Habibi said that this was impossible, Mr Thorogood revealed that he was the officer in question.
The panel were concerned that Mr Habibi did not know what the statutory licensing objectives were – even when the question was translated for him.
The council decision letter said: “A key consideration is the incident on Saturday 2 August 2025. CCTV footage has confirmed the seriousness of the incident.
“The force used by staff was clearly excessive and prolonged. Their actions showed a complete lack of control (and) training in conflict management, as required by the licence, and no supervision.
“There was no attempt at de-escalation and no immediate call to emergency services.
“The action of the licence holder in relation to provision of CCTV in relation to the incident also gives cause for concern as, on balance and as alleged by the police, the panel consider he did not fully co-operate to provide this and at worst attempted to withhold this crucial evidence.
“Although the licence holder has accepted some responsibility for the actions which took place … the panel does not have confidence in his ability to ensure that his staff are properly supervised and trained in order to promote the licensing objective of the prevention of crime and disorder.
“This lack of confidence is compounded by all the other evidence supporting the review. The panel considers that there has been public nuisance associated with these premises and that the complaints are from more than just one person.
“There was a tendency on the part of the licence holder to deny or diminish complaints received, for example, in relation to the building noise which was witnessed by the police licensing officer at the hearing.”
The panel also said that the building’s planning permission required 11pm closing – and a man with no right to work in Britain was found employed at the business, wearing a staff uniform.
A victory for common sense. However they shouldn’t have been given the licence in the first place, as the police at the time were against
The right decision. Question still is why they were granted the 3am licence in the first place.
Why was someone who cannot speak English given a late license, or indeed any license?
Only in the UK would people defending themselves and their property get arrested. In most countries, including the US, they would be celebrated as heroes.