Club licence suspended after attack by bouncers
FACTORY nightclub has had its licence suspended after bouncers were filmed attacking two men in the street outside.
The venue has been temporarily stripped of its licence while a full review is carried out.
It comes after bouncers were filmed attacking two men outside the Princess Street club in the early hours of Sunday.
GMP’s Supt Chris Hale described how CCTV footage of the attack left him ‘disturbed, upset and disgusted.’
Requesting the suspension, police told an emergency meeting of the council’s licensing committee that it had ‘extreme concerns’ about the level of violence used in the attack.
Councillors at the hearing, held at the Royal Exchange, agreed to the suspension, which was not challenged by Factory. Police said victim Joe Sharratt was ‘treated like a punchbag.’
Noting that the venue did not call the police about the attack, Alan Isherwood from GMP said the force had ‘serious concerns’ about the ‘extreme violence’ over the weekend.
“It’s easy for the premises to put it down to the door staff,” he said “but it’s abundantly clear that there was a huge lack of duty of care.”
Asking for the club’s licence to be suspended until a full review is carried out, he described the lack of reports to police as a ‘huge problem.’
Over the last 12 months, there were 34 assault crimes at Factory – some of which included the door staff. The club reported only four of them, it was said. Police have launched an investigation after St Helens rugby league player Joe, 18, suffered a bleed on the brain when he was knocked unconscious by bouncers. His friend Leon Cooper, also 18, was repeatedly punched during the attack. Joe is is said to be ‘sat up in bed and recovering well’ at Salford Royal Hospital.
Solicitors for Factory told councillors that the club was not challenging the suspension of its licence and agreed that it was important that it stayed closed while a full review was carried out. They said that Factory’s Mark Barker ‘cradled’ the back of the head of the young man which was ‘an open wound at the time,’ checked he was breathing and stayed with him until medics arrived. The hearing was also addressed by Mr Barker, who described the doormen’s behaviour as ‘vile.’
Coun Donna Ledford meanwhile, described the incident as ‘very disturbing’ and that it paints a ‘very bad picture of Manchester.’
The committee’s alternative options could have been to modify the conditions of the licence, by changing its opening hours or removing the ‘premises supervisor.’
A full review into the venue’s licence will take place before December 31.
Factory have terminated their contract with Professional Security, the firm which provided the bouncers, saying they were ‘totally appalled.’
Gordon Lamb, Professional Security operations director, told the M.E.N. all the bouncers involved have been sacked, adding he was ‘disgusted and appalled’ by the actions of his staff.