Baseball bats, planks of wood, broken bottles and metal railings were all used as weapons during the mass brawl that left a man fighting for his life, it has emerged.

The fight, involving around 20 people, started outside nightclubs The Villa and Club 195 in Cottis Lane, Epping, at around 2.50 am on Sunday (March 1).

It left two other men with facial injuries and “minor puncture wounds”.

The fight spilled on to High Street, where it is believed the assault that left a man in his 20s in a critical condition with a serious head injury happened.

A resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he witnessed a stabbing nearby in September and said he was 'not suprised' that someone was hurt on the street.

He claimed that fights and drug dealing happen every weekend in High Street.

The ex-doorman said: “I’ve seen people leave the clubs and get weapons out of the car, to get tooled up for a fight.

“They get baseball bats out of their cars, blades, knives I’ve seen a hammer along with the open drug dealing.”

“Epping police station should be open at night.

"Now police have to come from Loughton or Harlow - that could be the difference between life and death for the guy.”

Both clubs have late licenses, with The Villa staying open until 4.30 am.

But the resident believes limiting opening hours will not make a difference.

“A fight can happen at any time it’s just not going to stop people," he said.

“It’s about money. Those clubs should be closed entirely but the council need the night time trade it brings.”

The resident, who has lived in Epping his whole life but in High Street address for 8 years, described seeing a man stabbed from his front window in September.

He said: “That was horrible.

"The guy was big and I could see he was just trying to calm everyone down.

“He got two in the back. He spun around and his shirt was completely red.

“It was like a ghost had thrown a bucket of blood over him.”

“You wouldn’t believe stuff like this would happen in Epping.

"It is a village-like environment where everyone knows each other.

"It has all changed now since the opening of those clubs.”

Club 195 owner David King denied people from his club were involved in the brawl.

He has a 38-camera security system, a large team of security staff and uses electronic ID checks that track entrants' addresses.

According to witnesses, his security staff blocked off the alleyway and imposed a lock-down in the club as the fight took place directly outside in the alleyway.

Mr King said: “Most people would close the club and kick everyone out, but that would just make it worse.

“It was very, very, nasty and it got out of control - people throwing bottles and lumps of wood at each other.

"I had to bring my security staff back in, it was too dangerous for them.”

Mr King denied that fights happen every weekend in High Street.

He said: “I am the third biggest employer in Epping behind Marks and Spencer’s and Tesco’s with 44 members of staff.

“This club brings value to Epping. We bring people into the town.”

“The age demographic of Epping is definitely older. It has a village atmosphere but the truth is we are only five miles away from east London and people come here looking for trouble.”

Police have refused to reveal any further details of their investigation.

Mr King added: “I didn’t see one police officer all night, it’s wrong.

"They just don’t have the resources to deter this and by the time they got here it was all over.”

The Villa have refused to comment.