A serious assault at a Canning Town nightclub has led to its licence being revoked.

The February attack at the Guvnor, in North Woolwich Road, led to the decision, which was made on the grounds of public safety and to prevent crime and disorder.

Newham Council’s licensing sub-committee was asked to review the nightclub after the Metropolitan Police received 17 separate reports of assault since April 2011 as well as one of a masked robbery.

Councillors heard that the most recent incident, which took place just after 4am on Sunday, February 23, saw a man stabbed in the lower back and right armpit after a row inside the venue spread outside.

Councillor Ian Corbett, chair of the committee, said: “The level of serious crime and disorder at the venue is unacceptable and for the safety of the public we have withdrawn the licence. This should be a lesson to all licensees that they need to ensure their premises are safe. We will never shirk from taking the tough action necessary to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.”

PC Imran Choudhury said: “Innocent members of the public were left fearing for their safety in a place where they should be enjoying themselves.

“The community should be reassured that incidents of this nature are quite rare, but when they do happen we will not hesitate to take robust and positive action to tackle them.”

The club was given 21 days to lodge an appeal.