A SEVENTH man has appeared in court charged with violent disorder after an incident at a Wetherspoons pub on a summer’s evening.

Harry Matthew Salter, of Treecastle Road, is accused of using or threatening unlawful violence at the Dockle Farmhouse on Friday, July 17, 2020, soon after pubs had reopened following the first lockdown.

Scores of police officers were called to the pub, on Bridge End Road, to reports of a large amount of disorder, said to involve around 20 people.

Salter, aged 21, gave no indication of his plea at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, and the case was sent to Swindon Crown Court, where he will appear on February 11.

He is the seventh man to appear in the dock charged with the incident.

Six men appeared before the same court on Wednesday, January 12. They were:

  • James Joseph Quick, 18, of Elmore, Eldene.
  • Gareth Michael Timothy Sutherland, 19, of Drove Road.
  • Daiziel Hylton, 19, of Pheasant Close, Covingham.
  • Nathan Thomas Holmes, 20, of Truman Close, Eldene.
  • Joe Alexander Cole, 19, of Pheasant Close, Covingham.
  • Luke Russell Scott-Browne, 20, of Edale Moor. He is also charged with possession of a large knife in a public place.

All entered no plea to any charge, except Sutherland, who pleaded not guilty, according to court registers.

Salter could not attend on that date because of “Covid issues”, prosecutor Natalie Cheesman told the court.

“There are a number of other defendants who have already been committed to the Crown Court in this matter,” she told magistrates on Wednesday morning.

“The PTPH [plea and trial preparation hearing] for the other defendants is the 11th February 2022, all of those defendants have appeared before the court previously.

“Mr Salter was unable to because of Covid issues, so he did not attend. This matter should also be committed to the Crown Court to tie up with other defendants.”