Bar shut down after woman falls through stairs

The Back to the 80s venue in Stalybridge had its licence revoked by Tameside Council

A bar that let in an "intoxicated" punter who then fell through an unsafe staircase and suffered a serious head injury has been shut down.

The retro-themed Back to the 80s venue on Market Street in Stalybridge had its licence revoked by Tameside Council after the woman was knocked unconscious in the fall.

A licensing panel was shown CCTV footage of the incident on 30 June last year where she fell through a gap in the staircase and landed next to bar toilets.

Bar owner Ian Whittaker told the panel he accepted responsibility for the incident and said door staff should not have let her into the premises.

The panel was shown CCT of the woman plunging off the staircase on to the floor below

He said bar staff had refused the woman and her friends service and had asked them to leave, but admitted the incident would not have happened if she had been denied entry.

The panel heard the woman suffered bleeding from the wound and a significant headache after the fall, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

PC Craig Foley of Greater Manchester Police, who was at the hearing, said bar staff should not have let her in as the CCTV showed "the woman is absolutely legless".

The panel also heard from health and safety and fire officers that the bar lacked proper documentation and had been given a zero food hygiene rating at a recent inspection.

But safety issues issue with the staircase had since been addressed, the panel heard.

Despite this, Tameside Councillor Denise Ward announced the panel's decision to revoke the bar's licence.