Durham student died when 'unsuitable' screen collapsed at club

Olivia Burt, from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, was a first-year Natural Sciences student

A student suffered an "unsurvivable" head injury when a decorative screen collapsed as she queued to get into a nightclub, a jury has heard.

Olivia Burt, 20, fell through a panel as a crowd swelled and a metal bar came down on top of her when the structure gave way, Teesside Crown Court heard.

It happened outside the Missoula club in Durham in February 2018.

Stonegate Pub Company, the UK's biggest pub owners, denies four charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Miss Burt, from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, was a first-year natural sciences student at Durham University and a member of the university sailing club.

'Forged wristbands'

The venue had a capacity of 630 and was hosting the "Game Over" student night, where members of university sports clubs would socialise.

Jamie Hill KC, prosecuting, told the jury the Stonegate Pub Company failed in its duty to ensure the safety of Miss Burt and other customers, and failed to assess risks.

He said an external decorative fence was used as a "crowd control barrier," a purpose it was not suitable for and it should have been obvious it could be knocked over.

The jury were shown CCTV footage of crowds gathering outside the club on the night in question.

Mr Hill said queues could be "high-spirited" and there was sometimes jostling but it was "nothing like a football crowd".

Olivia Burt was a keen sailor and a member of the University of Durham team

By 23:00 GMT , the club was nearing capacity and queues were moving slowly because some students had invalid wristbands to gain entry and some were forgeries, Mr Hill said.

At 23:17 part of the metal screen, which was not fixed to the ground, fell over for the first time but club staff put it back up.

Mr Hill said this was a crucial "missed opportunity" to avert the tragedy.

"Once that screen had fallen, students should have been moved away from it, and if they could not queue safely in that area, they should have been moved on."

'Predictable and preventable'

Soon afterwards, Miss Burt and her friends arrived and door staff were "trying - and you may conclude failing - to manage the crowds", the court heard.

At 23:48, as the queue swelled, some students were leaning against the barrier when Miss Burt fell through a panel, then a section of the screen gave way and other customers toppled over it.

"Olivia's head hit the concrete pavement and the metal bar of the screen with the weight of other customers landed on her head," Mr Hill told the jury.

"She suffered an unsurvivable head injury.

"This tragedy was foreseeable, predictable and preventable."

The pub company denies the charges against it in a prosecution brought by Durham County Council.

It will claim it was not using the barrier for crowd control and the tragedy was not "reasonably foreseeable".

The trial is expected to last four weeks.