Student helped doorman give young woman CPR, after fence at bar fell on her

A student helped a doorman to give a young woman CPR after a fence at a Durham bar collapsed on top of her, a jury has heard.

Olivia Burt died when a the decorative screen used to manage the queue at Missoula fell to the ground. The 20-year-old was studying natural sciences at Durham University and was a member of the sailing club.

Teesside Crown Court previously heard how Olivia, from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, fell through a panel in the screen on February 7, 2018. A section of the screen then fell and other customers landed on top.

Stonegate Pub Company, which owned the former venue on Walkergate, is being prosecuted by Durham County Council. They are on trial accused of four breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

During the third day of the trial, the jury heard evidence from two doormen who were working for Phoenix Security at Missoula on the night of Olivia’s death.

Assistant head doorman Michael Bowkie said the security company realised how busy it was and asked a manager at the venue what they should do. He said: “We got told to let him know once it was at capacity.”

He explained to the court how the fence fell down earlier in the evening and they were told to put it back up by managers. He said nobody had been injured.

The court in Middlesbrough heard how, approximately half an hour later, the fence fell down again.

Mr Bowkie confirmed how he rushed to the area, found Olivia trapped by the barrier and gave her first aid. He said he was assisted by a student by the name of Miles.

He confirmed to the court that he did as much as he could to help until the police arrived 10 minutes later.

Door supervisor Simon Heal told the court how his job that night was to check wristbands and IDs and count the number of people entering the venue to ensure that it did not pass capacity.

He said that he made a call for assistance via the radio when students fell down with the fence and several of his colleagues arrived.

Mr Heal said that two other members of security staff started CPR on Olivia and continued with that until the police arrived.

When asked what he was doing at the time, he said: “I was trying to get all the students away. Some of them were crying and they just wanted to watch.”

Prosecutors allege that Stonegate Pub Company failed to assess the risk of using a decorative screen for queue management.

The company is accused of failing to carry out suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk to customers being made to queue alongside the perimeter fence which was an unsuitable and inadequate crowd control barrier, and not constructed or installed for that purpose.

The breaches which the pub chain are charged with relate to failing to ensure the health and safety of those not in their employment and failure to ensure the suitability of work equipment used.

The company deny all of the charges and the trial is expected to last three to four weeks.

Source – Chronicle Live