WHEN three Ventnor women were denied entry to a pub after hours, a man waded into the fray to help them — armed with a metal bar.

Callum Howitt, 27, Sandra Burt, 31, Becky Balmer, 35, and Teresa Tuckley, 50, were all sentenced at the IW Crown Court for their parts in the brawl.

Howitt, Tuckley's son, was sentenced to six months in custody for possession of an offensive weapon.

Burt, Balmer, and Tuckley, had been on a night out in Ventnor before arriving at the Blenheim on the High Street at 1.25am, only to find it closed.

They demanded to be let in, before instigating a fight with the landlady.

The court heard how the three women barged into the pub only to be shown out by the landlady, before they began banging on the doors and windows.

Prosecutor Rose Burns detailed how the landlady was forced to block the door while two men, Rob Wye and Mark Gallop, attempted to calm them down.

Ms Burns said: "Burt made a call to the police during the argument claiming to have been assaulted by the landlady.

"Mr Wye told one of the females to calm down, then one of the females pulled him to the ground from behind and kicked him in the head.

"Tuckley was described as getting mouthy and aggressive. She at one stage grabbed the landlady by the hair before attempting to re-enter the pub."

During the argument one of the women made a call to Howitt, telling him his mother was in trouble.

Howitt came running from the home he, Tuckley and Balmer share on Mitchell Avenue, clutching a metal bar and striking Mr Gallop on the head.

Ms Burns said: "It all seemed to calm down before Howitt came running down the hill."

Howitt's defence, Kelly Brocklehurst, said: "He sees himself as the man of the house and when he got the call that his mother was in trouble he picked up that bar and rushed to defend her."

When police searched Howitt's home they discovered £6,600 in cash, 2gms of cocaine and a small amount of cannabis.

The women were given a 12-month community order banning them from the Blenheim.

They were ordered to attend 20 days of rehabilitation activities and undertake 50 hours of unpaid work.

Burt, of Hazel Close, also admitted to common assault.

Howitt was sentenced for possession of an offensive weapon, assault, and possession of class A and B drugs.

Judge Adam Vaitilingam said: "By showing up with a weapon, it seems you poured petrol on what up until that point was a relatively small fire."