By Phil Green

A MAN suffered a suspected fractured skull after he was hit with a bottle as a works' Christmas party ended in a late-night brawl.

One witness said chairs were thrown during the fight at the Moat House Hotel on Higher Bridge Street in the early hours of Sunday.

The hotel had been hosting the Perry's Peugeot Dealership Christmas party and about 200 staff and family from the Bridgeman Street premises had been enjoying the evening which began at 7pm on Saturday. But one eyewitness said the party turned sour just after 1am on Sunday.

"About 40 people had stayed behind until that time," the witness said. "Everyone was in good spirits an d it was supposed to be celebration but for some reason an argument broke out and then it all went off."

It is believed a husband and wife began arguing with other guests which led to violence."At one point there were chairs being thrown and I saw one land close to a table where a pregnant woman was sitting," said the witness. "We had all come for a good time but I had to take my wife out of the way so we didn't get caught up in it. Other people were very frightened."

Police, who were called to the fracas, say one man was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital with a suspected fractured skull after being hit with a bottle.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Buchanan said: "We sent a lot of officers to the hotel because we had reports of a mass brawl. No arrests were made. We will be following this up by speaking with the injured man and seeing what action will be taken."

A spokesman for the Moat House described the incident as "fairly minor'. "The police were called and there was a disturbance but as far as we are concerned it only involved two people and there was no damage to hotel property," the spokesman said.

Managers at Perry's were unavailable for comment yesterday but confirmed a "fracas" had taken place. Sales manager Roy Hughes declined to comment, saying they were waiting for senior managers to return from holiday tomorrow before they could speak further.