The Bloody Battle of The Lyndhurst: Birmingham's Most Violent Pub Confrontation
For sheer, undiluted violence, few public house battles in Birmingham's history can match the carnage that unfolded at The Lyndhurst pub on Sutton Road in Erdington. This was the moment when an army of enforcers attempted to crush man mountain Joe Egan, the former sparring partner to legendary boxer Mike Tyson.
A Sunday Afternoon Turned Warzone
When the smoke cleared from the horrific events of July 26, 1998, six people had been shot or seriously injured. Egan himself, dubbed by Iron Mike Tyson as "the toughest white man on the planet," was blasted in the face with shotgun pellets. These are not exaggerated folklore or fanciful rumors attached to alleged gangland confrontations. These are the shocking, documented details reported by the Birmingham Mail and endorsed by police in their subsequent attempts to strip Egan of his position as the pub's landlord.
As Egan himself stated in his autobiography, "Big Joe Egan: Toughest White Man on the Planet": "When the gangs got on the car park there were 37 of them armed with a handgun, shotgun, hatchets and machetes. It was a bad, bad scene – there were bits of limbs, bodies everywhere. On a Sunday afternoon, there was a pitch-battle. The newspapers said it made Braveheart look like a Walt Disney movie."
The Protection Racket That Sparked Violence
Twenty-seven years ago, Egan stood up to mobsters who made an offer he wasn't supposed to refuse: a £500-a-week protection fee. Since taking over The Lyndhurst, Egan, standing 6ft 1ins tall and equally wide, had dramatically increased takings from £1,000 a week to £16,000. This brisk business had attracted the attention of criminal elements who wanted a slice of the action at a pub that had become a popular haunt for local boxers.
In his book, Egan, who has since appeared on television and in films such as Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," criticized the police response to the emergency. He claimed to have alerted authorities that gangs were gathering on the car park of nearby pub The Yenton and intended to attack his establishment. Despite promises of swift action, it took 55 minutes and four calls for help before police arrived. "Some of the lads who defended the pub with me had showered, been cleaned-up and gone before police arrived," Egan wrote.
Graphic Details of a Wild West Shootout
Egan painted a terrifying picture of a confrontation worthy of the Wild West. "That day a communion had been booked in the function room. I urged the family to cancel. There were families, young children, old men, old women – it was packed to the rafters," he recalled.
"With his army swarming behind him, the leader approaches the double doors. He takes out a silver 32 calibre handgun and starts firing rapidly at the doors, he's wearing no mask or gloves. After three shots, the gun jams. He makes several attempts to fire it, then throws it down to the ground. People are panicking and screaming and ducking."
Egan described how the attacker then obtained an even deadlier weapon: "Unknown to me, one of his men had handed him an even deadlier weapon – he steps up to the open doorway with a shotgun. I saw him enter the bar with the gun levelled. I stepped back immediately behind a wall, pressed back against it and crossed myself. I'm not ashamed to say I was afraid."
Police Investigation and Licensing Hearing
The Birmingham Mail report of the subsequent licensing hearing described mass disorder at the establishment. "Police found gunshot marks, machetes, smashed bottles and broken pool cues following a gangland style attack on a Birmingham pub, city magistrates were told," the article began.
Simon Davis, representing West Midlands Police, stated: "Mr Egan initially told police he did not know what had provoked the attack. But he later told officers he thought it had been revenge for a failed attack on his pub the previous week when a gang of armed men were fought off by regular Lyndhurst drinkers. He also named the man who shot him."
Davis added that officers discovered "a fired bullet, three used shotgun cartridges, a baseball bat, machetes and lock knife" at the scene. Superintendent Richard Abbotts, of Queens Road police station in Aston, believed Egan had been targeted by members of an organized protection racket.
Lasting Scars and Memories
The pub itself has long since disappeared, demolished in 2009 to make way for housing developments. Yet those caught in the riot will never forget the horrific scenes. Egan, now 60 years old and originally from Dublin, remains undaunted by time. He's currently embroiled in a bitter verbal feud with John Fury, father of boxing champion Tyson Fury – a conflict the former professional heavyweight wants settled with boxing gloves.
Of that infamous day, Egan later told the Sun newspaper: "It was savage. I got shot twice while trying to help a man who had fought in World War II, only to get shot at a pub in a Birmingham housing estate by scum. It was a nasty 25-minute experience."
It was an experience that transcended mere "nastiness" – a brutal chapter in Birmingham's criminal history that left physical and psychological scars on all involved. The Battle of The Lyndhurst stands as a stark reminder of the violence that once erupted in the city's neighborhoods, with participants likely still carrying the marks of that terrible Sunday afternoon.
