Olivia Burt death trial: Teesside Crown Court hears Missoula may have been ‘bending’ security rules; Stonegate Pub Company denies four health-and-safety breaches

A NIGHTCLUB at the centre of a trial over the death of Milford student Olivia Burt may have been “bending” security rules, a court heard.

The 20-year-old suffered a fatal head injury when a barrier collapsed on her outside the Missoula bar in Durham city centre on 7th February, 2018, writes Alex Storey.

Prosecutors claim the UK’s largest pub chain, Stonegate Pub Company, which managed the bar, failed to carry out proper safety checks.

As reported in the A&T, Teesside Crown Court heard the screen partially collapsed just an hour before the incident but was put back up by staff.

However, as the crowds gathering outside to queue between 11pm and midnight, the decorative screen collapsed again, fatally injuring Olivia.

Stonegate, based in Solihull, West Midlands, denies four breaches of the Health and Safety Act and are being tried by a jury at Teesside Crown Court.

The court heard evidence from Paul Gourlay today (Tuesday), who was operations manager for Phoenix Security at the time.

The company provided door staff for 250 Stonegate venues nationwide, including Missoula.

Mr Gourlay told the court he was asked to meet with the club’s promoter, manager, police, and the council in February 2017, a year before the tragedy, in relation to crowd control concerns.

He said: “When I attended it seemed very informal.

“It was more the authorities trying to find out what the practices were for Wednesday nights at the complex and what plans they had.”

Prosecutor Jamie Hill KC asked: “Were some issues raised about the Wednesday evenings?”

Mr Gourlay replied: “Yes.

“The general consensus before I went into the meeting was that there were other premises on Walkergate reporting to the local authority that Missoula were bending the rules in relation to crowd control in the venue.”

When asked about the mood of the meeting, Mr Gourley said: “I would say it was quite relaxed. I was expecting it to be more formal.”

He told the court that students would often arrive “en masse” at Missoula and they would often deliberately push forward while queuing.

The court heard the existing queue deployment plan was discussed at the meeting which included a clicker system to count entry numbers and a due diligence book kept at the venue on behalf of Stonegate.

On the first Wednesday evening following the meeting, the court heard part of the perimeter fencing collapsed due to overcrowding in the queue, caused by the pre-purchased ticket line being sold out.

Mr Gourlay had been there and told jurors nobody was hurt and the queue of up to 250 students was dispersed, before he reported the incident to his managers.

Tragically almost a year to the day later, Olivia fell through the decorative screen and suffered unsurvivable injuries when she hit her head on the pavement and a metal bar fell on her.

Mr Hill KC previously told jurors: “We say this screen should not have been used as a crowd control barrier or for queue management.

“It is the prosecution case that the company failed in its duty to ensure the safety of Olivia and other customers.

“It failed to properly assess risks. It used inappropriate equipment and it ignored warning signs of danger.

“The prosecution says the fatal accident was foreseeable, predictable and preventable.”

Mr Gourley also told jurors that staff at Missoula could have called on “reinforcements” from other Phoenix staff in the Walkergate complex to help with the crowd control, had they have asked.

During cross-examination by defence barrister Prashant Popat KC, Mr Gourley confirmed there were 10 door staff on duty the night of the tragedy.

Jurors heard all were well trained and were all qualified under the Security Industry Authority.

Mr Gourley said that the management of the queues was always designed to keep students as “safe as possible”.

The case continues.