Twenty-nine people who were arrested following a mass brawl in a Liskeard hotel have been released on police bail. All 29 held after the fight in the early hours of Boxing Day are to return to police stations in Cornwall in January and February. Ten officers are working on the inquiry into the incident at Smokey's at the Lord Eliot hotel that saw 16 people injured after a large group of men and women began attacking each other with pool cues and bar stools at the hotel at around 1.30am. Ten of the injured were taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. Six were released after treatment for minor injuries and four were kept in with broken legs and arms. Five other people were treated at the scene and a police officer was slightly hurt. Devon and Cornwall police said the people arrested were of Chinese origin, in their 20s and 30s, and included at least three women. Of those arrested, eight have been handed over to the immigration service because it is suspected they are in the UK illegally. Staff at the hotel dialled 999 and a lone female officer arrived from Liskeard police station. She called for back-up but was then punched in the face. Local police arrived but were forced to call for further back-up from all over Devon and Cornwall. More than 20 cars went to the scene from Camborne, Launceston, Liskeard, Plymouth, Barnstaple and Torquay. Superintendent Barry Frost, from Devon and Cornwall police, said: 'It was one almighty fight, like something out of the Wild West. The brawl continued in the street where some people actually tried to mow each other down in their cars. 'We are still trying to establish what happened, but most of the people speak only Cantonese and Mandarin so it is going to take some time to sort out,' he added. Smokey's reopened on Tuesday evening. 'There is not a lot of damage,' said John Lundon, owner of the Lord Eliot Hotel. 'I think the incident has been blown out of proportion. 'It was a bit of a scuffle but it looked a lot worse than it was.'
