POLICE closed a Blackwood pub after a huge brawl involving more than 50 people.

Officers were called to the Monkey Tree pub in Gordon Road at around 8pm on Sunday after reports of a disturbance.

They saw around 50 people brawling inside, who fled as soon as they saw police.

Blackwood police station inquiry officer Mark Penny said there was furniture strewn about the pub, and blood all over the floor.

The pub was later closed by police for 24 hours.

They then extended the closure for a further 24 hours, and the licensee is due to face a licensing committee at magistrates court today, police said. Officers were alerted to the trouble by a woman on her mobile phone. It is not known if she was involved or if she was a passer-by.

Police said there could have been even more people involved in the fighting before they got there, who might have fled as they heard officers approaching.

They say they do not yet know who were the victims and who were the offenders.

CCTV footage from the pub was seized, and officers say they hope to have a better idea of what caused the affray once they have studied the tapes.

Residents living near the pub said they saw the police cars pulling up. One couple living in Gordon Road, who asked not to be named, said: "We only saw the police going past and didn't see anything of the fight itself."

No-one at the Monkey Tree was available to comment on the incident. Mark Penny said: "This was a large disturbance and a bad incident."

Police are asking for any witnesses to call them at Blackwood police station on 01633 838111