A complaint raised over music levels during a pub event to help fund life-changing surgery for a Plymouth baby has left “a sour taste”, says its landlady.

The Royal Oak in Hooe has received notification that Plymouth City Council is investigating a possible breach of a temporary events licence at a live music fundraiser it held on Saturday, September 6, following a noise complaint from a neighbour.

The pub raised more than £4,000 for treatment for Macey-Mai, who has the rare and painful condition called Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus (GCMN), after landlady Ellen Triffitt and her partner Serena Baker were touched by the little girl’s story.

Macey-Mai’s condition has left her with extensive birthmarks covering her whole back, which her mum Katelyn Clarke says has an elevated risk of developing into a malignant melanoma.

She will need repeated surgery throughout her childhood for the tumours that grow on GCMN. Katelyn says the NHS will only treat her if they becomes malignant.

Ellen said the fundraiser had been a great success, and as far as she was concerned, she had operated within the conditions of her temporary events licence and ended the music at 8pm.

“This was about raising money for a baby to have life-changing surgery and all the musicians gave their time for free in support of this,” she said.

The complaint had “put a spanner in the works” for future events, including one planned in aid of St Luke’s Hospice.

“Unfortunately, now that will not be going ahead, and our summer season has had to come to a sorry end.

“It has left a sour taste,” said Ellen, who has been running the community pub for two years and raised in the region of £7,000 for several charities during that time.

“After all the support and fundraising it’s like a slap in the face.”

Macey-Mai’s mum, who brought the four-month-old along to the fundraiser a week after her first operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital to have several lesions removed, said she had been overwhelmed by the day, after initially thinking it would just be family members who came along.

The mother-of-three said she was “shocked and sad” by the complaint.

“It was such a special day for Macey-Mai, me and our family. Serena and Ellen are wonderful people who have built a community of support for our family, which has been a great strength to me.

“When Macey-Mai was diagnosed, I felt so alone and really didn’t know how I was going to cope. Walking away from that fundraiser on Saturday made me feel so strong and that I can do this.

“It was such a massive day, when I heard about the complaint, it made me cry and it’s heartbreaking that they can’t hold the St Luke’s fundraiser now.”

The next step for the infant will be an MRI scan on September 24 to check her brain and spinal cord for a related neurological condition.

Katelyn said she was overwhelmed by the 542 donations received, adding people were going above and beyond to help her daughter

A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: “We have a responsibility to investigate all complaints of noise nuisance. We would not comment on any complaints where investigations are ongoing.”

You can donate to the GoFundMe here.