Pub banned from hosting community garden parties after 'killjoy' neighbour 'posed as a solicitor and faked a petition'

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 05:48 EDT, 8 September 2026 | Updated: 05:48 EDT, 8 September 2026 A pub landlord has been banned from hosting community garden parties after a neighbour allegedly posed as a solicitor and faked a petition.Darren Robinson claims he put on just three summer events at The Wirral Hundred in Birkenhead, Merseyside, and locals 'loved' them all.He was shocked to discover a typo-littered, handwritten letter on the pub's doorstep on August 25, claiming to represent the views of residents 'concerned by the disruptions'.The note - signed off by a 'solicitor' - argued the pub had 'breached' its licence and could be slapped with a ban on live music or even have its licence revoked.Mr Robinson suspected the letter was simply a neighbour trying to scare him into stopping the parties.The landlord admitted he thought the note had backfired when locals came out in support of his events and Wirral Council confirmed they were not aware of a petition.But the garden parties have since been shut down anyway - because the pub does not have a licence for outdoor music, which Mr Robinson mistakenly thought it did.The pub owner was forced to cancel the outdoor event he had planned for Saturday, August 29 and has not hosted any since. Locals celebrate at a summer party hosted in the garden of The Wirral Hundred in Birkenhead, Merseyside. A neighbour allegedly posed as a solicitor and faked a petition in a bid to complain The note argued the pub had 'breached' its licence and could be slapped with a ban on live music or even have its licence revokedMr Robinson, from Birkenhead, said: 'I was disappointed to receive that letter. It's claiming all the houses and residents [are complaining]. I was thinking, 'who? Because nobody's telling me'.'From the feedback we're getting and the fact the pub is doing well and building and creating spirit, everybody's happy with what we're doing.'I just thought it was strange that someone would find it okay to do that. They are a bit of a killjoy really.'The letter urges the pub to 'please consider the locals so they can sit in their gardens' after several garden parties were hosted at the venue.It goes on to say that amplified music, live bands, DJs shouting, noise escaping the pub and noisy patrons in beer gardens can all be classed as 'nuisance noise'.The note warns Mr Robinson had better show 'some respect for the locals' so the dispute will not 'have to go any further'.The pub shared the letter to Facebook with the caption: 'For us to be told that there is a resident petition to threaten the licence is a surprise and quite sad.'Mr Robinson added: 'I don't believe there is a petition. If there was, I'd gladly sit with [the note writer] and say we're not here to cause you any nuisance or any problem. We're just here to do business.'It's not like we're blaring music all hours, it's just a day and it's actually on a main road with a field opposite.'If the wind was somehow to travel the sound to your garden it isn't still going to be loud. We're not right on someone's house.'The landlord said that he was surprised the complainant did not visit the pub to complain in person.'If people were screaming and shouting loudly with obscenities then I'd fully respect that,' he added. 'We would stop that and tell those people.' Mr Robinson is convinced there is no petition and people replied to his Facebook post saying they had not complained. Landlord Darren Robinson, pictured, received assurances from the council that the petition did not exist, but the parties were closed down anyway as his pub did not have the correct licenceSome comments below the post pointed out the letter's poor spelling and grammar, and branded the sender 'miserable' and a 'Karen'. The landlord added: 'The garden parties are massive for the community and we get told it's really good. If I was doing something wrong I'd hold my hands up and have a chat.'But the points they have stated and the lies they have stated about the petition and that people are fed up is not what we're being told.'Wirral Council said the pub 'does not have permission under the conditions of its licence to play music - live or recorded - outside'.