Nine British soldiers charged with serious offences in Cyprus over drunken bar brawl

They are said to have ransacked a bar in the resort of Ayia Napa, causing more than £6,000 worth of damage.

The owner of the bar had a glass smashed in his face while a member of his staff was taken to hospital following a savage beating.

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"I can't remember an incident as serious as this for several years," said Dennis Barnes, a British military spokesman.

"We don't condone any form of violence or drunken and disorderly behaviour. Soldiers are helping the police with their enquiries."

The soldiers belong to the 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers which is nearing the end of a two-year posting on the island.

While there, the 623-strong unit has been sent off on tough tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Local police have charged the nine with offences including assault, actual bodily harm, malicious damage, affray and grievous bodily harm.

Kyriakos Hadjiyiannis said the soldiers ran into his Flintstones-themed Bedrock Inn in the early hours of Saturday morning in pursuit of a man.

"They started throwing bottles, glasses and chairs - they were completely out of control," said the 40-year-old.

He said the soldiers turned on him and some local drinkers when they tried to restore order.

Mr Hadjiyiannis added: "One of my employees got really badly injured.

"He crawled into the toilet and locked himself in there.

"He had 22 stitches around the nose and lips and had a broken nose and a broken foot.

"I had six stitches on my head and eyebrow, and a broken finger. I got beaten up.

"I got hit in the face, most possibly by a glass, and had a stool to the back of the head."

Another military spokesman said a tenth British soldier was recovering in hospital yesterday with serious head injuries and "may well face charges when well enough".

Cypriot police issued arrest warrants for the nine servicemen on Saturday afternoon. The warrants were served at the British military garrison at Dhekelia, 25 miles from Ayia Napa.

The nine were brought to a police station, charged and told they would have to appear in court at a later date.

Ayia Napa, a resort on the south-eastern coast popular with British tourists, goes quiet in winter and only a handful of bars remain open.

The town centre was declared out of bounds to the British military more than ten years ago following a series of serious incidents.

These culminated in September 1994 in the horrific killing of Danish tour guide Louise Jensen by three off-duty servicemen.

The situation in Ayia Napa was so out of hand that the central square was dubbed the "Battlefield" because dozens of drunken British soldiers brawled there.

Thirteen months ago two Royal Marine commandos were accused of assaulting a taxi driver while on a brief "decompression period" in Cyprus after fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The two, who had broken army rules to go out drinking in Limassol, were charged with grievous bodily harm.

They were given a heavy fine in place of a prison sentence.

If convicted, the nine soldiers in the latest incident could face further action by the military.

They were celebrating a so-called "millionaire's weekend" after receiving their monthly pay, the last they will be given on the island.