Pop Works: Eight taken to hospital after pepper spray released in club, police say

The club, which is on Silver Street in Doncaster city centre, was evacuated after the incident

Eight people were taken to hospital after suspected pepper spray was discharged in a nightclub in Doncaster, police have said.

Pop Works was evacuated after several people reported feeling unwell at about 05:00 BST on Sunday.

Police said it had been a "terrifying ordeal" for those affected and they were trying to identify those responsible for spraying the chemical.

The city centre venue said it was "deeply sorry" for the incident.

"This was a big eye-opener for us as a business and it was handled very well - thank you to our door staff and management," the Silver Street venue's managers said in a statement.

"We would like to apologise to everyone who was inside at the time and who was involved in the incident.

"What a world we live in that people would make businesses harder than it is in this trade after Covid."

The club thanked police and firefighters for responding to the incident.

'Working to ease fears'

South Yorkshire Police said eight people were taken to hospital as a precaution but all were later discharged unhurt.

The force said a multi-agency investigation had determined the substance was "more than likely a pepper spray or something similar".

Supt Peter Thorp added: "While our enquiries into this incident remain ongoing, we want to reassure the wider public that this was thankfully a relatively minor release of something akin to a pepper spray, which didn't cause any lasting injuries and the majority of people at the venue were unaffected.

"However, the fact remains that whoever chose to bring that substance to the venue clearly did so to cause alarm or injury, and we are working to identify those responsible."

Police have urged witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

Ch Insp David Struggles, from the Doncaster district command team, said: "This type of offence will cause concern among the community and those who like to use the night-time economy in the city.

"We want to get to the bottom of what happened as quickly as possible to ease those fears and make those who live in or wish to use the city centre for leisure feel safe and secure."