Brutal late night violence is no longer shocking people because it is becoming “routine”, a councillor has said.

A man was taken to a London hospital in a serious condition on Sunday (April 10), after his neck was slashed with a broken glass outside Nu Bar in Loughton High Road.

Essex Police say the assault happened during a “disturbance” involving about 40 people.

The High Road between Old Station Road and Station Road has seen a number of violent incidents in the last year, including an alleged machete attack which saw a man lose a hand, a man being stabbed in the back in a car park brawl and a man being kicked in the spine and having bottles thrown at him.

“It seems to be becoming rather routine,” said Conservative Loughton councillor James Hart.

“It ought to be shocking but I doubt that it is still shocking people, because you sort of see it so often.”

Loughton is “suffering at the expense of other areas”, he said, with large numbers of clubbers believed to visit from other areas.

Nu Bar closes at 2am on Friday and Saturday with nearby LuXe – which lost a battle to remain as a night club last year – staying open until 3am.

Following Sunday’s incident, cllr. Hart called for opening hours to be shortened.

He said: “I would rather neither premises existed, but getting them closed down is rather hard to do.

“It is definitely not the right place [for night clubs].”

He added: “It would be nice to see closing time reined back to midnight, that is obviously what ought to be done.

“Hopefully the licensing committee can have another look at its licensing.”

David Linnell of the Loughton Residents Association (LRA) also called for earlier closing times, but he added that “finding a way through is tough” for police and Epping Forest District Council.

He said: “The problem that [Essex Police and the district council] both have is that the legislation does not extend to what happens outside licensed premised.

“In other words, you cannot review Nu Bar’s license for something that hasn’t happened inside.

“What we would like to see is both LuXe and Nu Bar closing earlier than midnight, which is reasonable for a residential area.

“The problem is, how do we get there?

“It does appear impossible for them to do anything.”

He added: “This is just not an appropriate place to have these sorts of licensed premises, because we have got residential properties; it is obviously impossible for customers to leave without disturbing residents.”

Mr Linnell said the LRA will be discussing the issue with Essex Police after local elections on May 5.

After the assault on Sunday, witnesses said one attacker was wearing a polo top and another was using crutches, and a BMW car may have been involved.

A 31-year-old man from Birmingham was arrested at the scene.