As a reporter there are always times when you question the judgement of your editors and this was a classic case in point.

I was working the weekend and there were two incidents that, on a normal day, would have been prime contenders for the splash – the main story on the front page – in Monday’s paper.

The first was a massed brawl that took place all over Scarborough town centre in the early hours of the Saturday morning and the second was when I stumbled across a cop guarding a house just around the corner from where I was living at the time – it turned out that officers had raided a cannabis farm in the terraced property later that day.

However also that weekend was the final of Miss Scarborough – an anachronistic beauty competition which belonged back in the 1970s – at the recently refurbished Scarborough Spa complex and my editor was determined that that should get the spot on the front page and I was relegated to pages four and five.

Needless to say it would be an understatement that I was a bit miffed by the move and it turned out that the Miss Scarborough event was marred when supporters of one of the losing candidates smashed up one of the brand new toilets which was a bit removed from the glitz and the glam that my editor promised. On the plus side I did not have to actually report on the event

The bizarre coincidence is that the police officer I dealt with, and yes it was from the time when you could actually speak with a police officer rather than the press office, was the same for both cases but I suppose he was the one who was on duty that weekend.

So, because they were denied the justified prominent exposure, I present both stories again today.

Armed brawl: four arrested

FOUR men have been arrested in connection with an armed fight in Scarborough town centre.

And four men also needed hospital treatment but their wounds were not thought to be life-threatening.

The mass brawl, which involved the use of actual and home-made weapons, happened in several areas, including Columbus Ravine, Hoxton Road and Dean Road Cemetery at 1.50am on Saturday.

Officers searched Dean Road Cemetery looking for clues in connection with the incident on Saturday.

Sgt Richard Mallinson, of Scarborough Police, said: “This was a large scale fight between several males which appears to have been organised.”

One of the improvised weapons was mace-like – a stick with nails hammered into it.

“Several people are in custody and we are hoping further arrests will be made,” said Sgt Mallinson.

It is understood that one of the men injured required stitches for a head injury.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said that there had been four arrests made in connection with the incident – two 19-year-old men, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old youth.

At the time of going to press no one had been charged in connection with the incident.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Monday, May 16, 2011.

Police swoop on cannabis farm

POLICE swooped on a house in a quiet Scarborough street and uncovered a large-scale cannabis farm.

The raid was at about 8.45am on Saturday after the landlord of the All Saints’ Road property alerted police because he had not been paid rent for a while.

Sgt Richard Mallinson, of Scarborough Police, described the farm as a professional operation and covered two floors of the property.

He said: “On one floor there were chemicals and a number of different plants. On the other floor there were harvested plants. It was a professional set up.”

Sgt Mallinson added that enquiries were still on going and urged anyone with any information to contact him.

It is understood that the remains of 200 harvested plants were found at the property as well as equipment, chemicals and fertiliser used to grow the cannabis plants.

There have been no arrests in connection with the investigation so far as there was no one at the property when officers searched it.

Crime Scene Investigation officers were expected to search for evidence over the weekend and officers were stationed at the front door while the investigation continued.

One witness, who did not give his name, said he was surprised when officers turned up at the address. He added: “We wondered what was happening. We never heard from the occupants.”

He said he had never seen anyone enter the house apart from a woman on Friday night.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Monday, May 16, 2011.