West Midlands club temporarily closed following '100-plus people' brawl with police
The brawl saw more than 100 people arm themselves with makeshift weapons before throwing them at police.
A Birmingham nightclub has been temporarily closed after a spat of trouble saw ‘more than 100 people’ clash with police in a violent brawl.
The trouble took place in John Bright Street, in the city centre, as party goers left the King of Clubs, at around 10.30pm on Saturday, May 23.
There was also reported evidence of drug taking, and now the nightclub has been temporarily closed pending a full review.
Superintendent Karl Thomas, of West Midlands Police, said: “At approximately 2236 hours, as people were leaving the premises an incident occurred whereby a violent disorder occurred involving in excess of 100 people using items as weapons.
“This violent disorder is a serious crime by virtue of the sentencing tariff for the offence.”
The superintendent applied to Birmingham City Council’s licensing committee on behalf of the force, requesting a review of the venue’s licence.
He added: “West Midlands Police have serious concerns for the promotion of the licensing objectives at these premises.
“The premises have had previous incidents involving persons leaving the premises requiring police attendance and assistance to disperse persons, and the police have attempted to work with the premises in relation to this with no avail.
“This is such a serious incident and breach of the licensing objectives that West Midlands Police would request that the premises license be suspended.”
The council’s sub-licensing committee A heard the review on Thursday, May 28, with committee chair Councillor Diane Donaldson, saying that members had suspended the licence pending a full review.
A police appeal into the incident is still ongoing, with West Midlands Police asking anyone with information to contact them directly.
A force spokesperson said: “We were called to reports of a large disorder on John Bright Street shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday, May 12.
“Glass bottles and other items were thrown at officers, although thankfully, none suffered serious injuries.
“Several items linked to drug use were seized from the scene, and our enquiries are continuing.
“Anyone with information or footage from the incident should call 101 or speak to us via Live Chat on our website, quoting log: 5385 of May 23.”
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