Gangs are waging a violent war in Wolverhampton, hijacking at least three city pubs that have become their unofficial bases.

Amid shootings and violent attacks, one gang member has been spotted by police at a pub wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Armed police have been called out to the city centre following shootings, and amid fears of further clashes officers have asked for pubs to be closed down or managers removed.

Licensing chiefs will tomorrow meet to discuss the future of the Moscow Bar, following months of violence linked to city bars.

Last month, a man was shot in the bar at the Waggon & Horses in Cannock Road. It came just over a week after another man was fired at and the pub has been temporarily shut down.

The future of the Moscow Bar, pictured, in Darlington Street, in the city centre, now hangs in the balance.

Today we reveal details of a damning police report on the Moscow Bar that lifts the lid on Wolverhampton’s gangs.

Allegations made in the report reveal how:

* Police called to investigate a stabbing near the Moscow Bar saw a gang member wearing a “ballistic or stab-proof vest”.

* Officers called to the pub found 20 people brawling with knives.

* The pub was closed for a night after rival gang members confronted each other in the bar.

* Eight gang members rushed at a door, forcing their way into the pub.

Wolverhampton’s top police officer says his officers are “babysitting” the venue, which was linked to the stabbing of a teenager on a nearby car park on July 6.

It could now be shut down if councillors feel that the venue, which police have found open and packed with 200 clubbers at 4am, poses a risk to the public.

Our investigation has found how one of the city’s top drugs gangs has now essentially been wiped out, and others have emerged, with some merging with others to increase their influence.

Criminals, often high on cocaine, have easy access to weapons and are willing to open fire to settle petty disputes over “respect”.

Pictures have now emerged of one gunman – jailed for at least seven years over a city-centre shootout – showing off in a gangster-style pose in his cell.

Three main gangs have been identified in Wolverhampton:

* The Demolition Crew, or the UDC, operating in Heath Town.

* The Reans Crew, operating from Whitmore Reans.

* The Park Village Crew, operating in Park Village.

Pubs in the city have become unsuspecting focal points for gang activity, according to police.

Officers facing the job of controlling the gangs declined to comment today but Jenny Taylor, managing director of Engage Youth Empowerment Services (EYES), launched in 2004 to steer city children away from a life of violence, said problems with gangs in the city had increased.

She said: “Before, it would be to do with drugs but now, a lot of it seems to be about respect. There’s a lot of envy out there.”