A LANDLORD who barred a customer for wearing a t-shirt mocking victims of the Hillsborough disaster has said he is "gutted" he didn't spot the man sooner.

Mark Daniels, who runs the Brewers Arms in St John's, Worcester, threw a customer out on Sunday afternoon for wearing a black t-shirt which referring to the 1989 tragedy.

At the time of the incident the Comer Road pub was "very busy" and a 40th birthday party was taking place in the pub's garden.

Mr Daniels told the Worcester News he first spotted the t-shirt when a "scuffle" ensued between a man wearing the item and pub punters.

He said: "He [the man in the t-shirt] came in, he had a coat on. I was running round like a mad man serving two people at a time. Nobody mentioned anything to me.

"I was aware he was in here but I didn't see anything on the back of his shirt. He went straight into the garden."

The 45-year-old continued: "Apparently somebody walked past him [the man in the t-shirt] and said: 'That [the t-shirt] is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen' and spat beer at him.

"There was a bit of a scuffle. I was in the right place at the right time. I grabbed him, pulled him away, and in the end Deb escorted him out.

"All he [the man in the t-shirt] kept saying was: 'That lad has just spat in my face.' I said: 'What do you expect, look at your shirt!'."

Since the photograph of a man wearing the top in the Brewers' beer garden was posted on Twitter, Mr Daniels says he has received "thousands and thousands" of Tweets from people all around the world.

While the majority of the messages have been applauding his actions, he says he has also received threats.

Speaking on Sunday morning he said: "I haven't been to bed. I have had families of Hillsborough victims commending me. It has been 99 per cent good feedback.

"I'm just gutted, I'm absolutely devastated we all are, the whole family is, this is a community pub.

"It is disgusting [the t-shirt]. To me, that is not football. The message that is just vile isn't it?"