A MASS brawl in Caerleon cannot be blamed on the restrictions on licensing hours according to the Welsh Government's health minister Vaughan Gething.

Mr Gething was speaking at the Welsh Government's coronavirus update briefing earlier today.

The incident in Caerleon took place on the town's high street at around 10pm on Saturday night.

It is thought that the approximately 30 people involved had just been emptied from the various pubs in the area.

New restrictions implemented as a result of the local coronavirus lockdown in Newport mean that licensed premises in the city must stop serving alcohol at 10pm.

However, Mr Gething said that this, along with all measures imposed by the Welsh Government regarding coronavirus, was under regular review.

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"I don't think people can use licensing hours as an excuse for unlawful violent conduct," he said.

"All of us need to realise we have a role to play.

"That means businesses in the hospitality industry need to follow the rules.

"It also means customers need to follow the rules and not look for an excuse to blame someone else."

Gwent Police officers and the dog squad attended the incident. However, no arrests were made and no injuries reported.

Jayne Bryant, MS for Newport West, said that scenes like those in Caerleon were bad enough at the best of time.

“But when the vast majority of people are following the rules of the local restrictions it’s incredibly frustrating to say the least," she said.

“The restrictions in Wales mean that licensed premises stop serving alcohol at 10pm rather than pubs closing at 10pm to try to prevent things like this from happening.

“I’ve been concerned about reports of anti-social behaviour in the area over the last month in particular and have raised this persistently with the police.”