Licence review finds city nightclub acted correctly after student fell ill

THE company behind a popular Exeter nightspot says it has been 'exonerated' over an incident in which a teenage university student collapsed and fell down stairs during a night out.

- by GUY HENDERSON Local Democracy Reporter

The woman's family and friends believe her drink may have been spiked before she collapsed in the Timepiece nightclub.

A meeting of the city council's licensing committee heard claims that club staff had failed to show basic care for the girl when she became ill.

But councillors have decided not to revoke or suspend the club's licence, and not to discipline any of its staff. Instead, they have recommended more training and the appointment of a welfare officer to respond to customers' needs.

Timepiece director Sam King said: “We feel exonerated by the decision of the committee and their findings of fact - in particular, that the written witness evidence submitted by the applicant did not accurately reflect what had occurred and that the actions of our terrific door supervisors did sufficiently promote the licensing objectives.”

He said the review had been initiated without any prior contact with Timepiece and, at times, had felt like a personal witch hunt.