Man’s skull fractured in attack at nightclub

A MAN suffered a fractured skull and black eye when he was attacked in a pop-up nightclub during Henley Royal Regatta.

Toby Stewart, 26, was set upon by a group of men at China White, off the Remenham towpath, around 10pm on Saturday.

The mechanic was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading where he was treated before being discharged.

An eyewitness reported seeing about 10 men fighting. A man had a bottle thrown at his head and came running out covered in blood and people were throwing chairs.

At least two men were arrested by police and one was seen verbally abusing officers while shirtless.

Mr Stewart’s mother, Amanda, from Checkendon, said she received a phone call from his girlfriend Dani, who is a manager at the Crown in Playhatch.

“She said she couldn’t find Toby and neither could his friends and that something had happened,” said Mrs Stewart.

“She said his friends had said Toby had gone to the bar to get a drink while in China White and that some blokes started a fight.

“Dani was really concerned as he was meant to be having dinner with her that night. No one had seen him for more than 12 hours. I didn’t know what was going on, so I called 101 and reported him as a missing person.”

She received a call from Loddon Valley police station in Earley saying Toby had been taken to hospital but was now with them.

Mrs Stewart said: “They said he was in a bad way and that I could come and collect him. They said they weren’t charging him with anything.

“When I came to pick him up I saw his eye, fractured skull and kick marks and footprints on his body. He still had his entry ticket for China White, which had a free drink he hadn’t collected.”

She said Toby couldn’t remember what had happened, adding: “He remembers going to the bar and then waking up in hospital.

“It must have been a serious attack because Toby is 6ft and around 16 stone. It would take a lot to bring him down. I think someone hit him with something, he went down and then they beat him up. He had fractured his skull and has a massive black eye. There is a boot print on his right shoulder. I have never seen anybody like that before.

“I took my best friend Ines with me to pick him up from the police station and she burst into tears at the sight of him. Toby’s girlfriend was also extremely emotional at the state of him.

“It’s awful when it’s your child — this isn’t the Henley I grew up in.”

Police confirmed they were investigating an assault in China White and asked for anyone with information to call 101, quoting reference 43230291325.