WHEN 16-year-old William Upton struck the booze-fuelled fatal blow which led to Adam Rogers’ death, he had spent the evening drinking.

During his trial it emerged that he had been drinking alcohol in the Knowles Arms, in Blackburn, then wine and cherryade at a friend’s house, before heading to the Live Lounge in the town centre.

Both venues have now pledged their support for the Lacashire Telegraph’s campaign Every Action Has Consquences.

Back in July 2009, the Knowles Arms, in Brownhill Road, was being run by landlord of eight years Vince Gates and was owned by Enterprise Inns.

Known as the destination of choice before a trip into town, the popular pub was often packed out during the weekend.

And it was where William Upton was served alcohol on the night he killed 24-year-old Adam Rogers Since then the premises has been bought by Intrepid Leisure and Stuart Grisedale has taken over the reigns of the managed house.

When we showed him a picture of Upton, taken by police when he handed himself in after Adam’s death, Mr Grisedale was stunned.

“I would definitely not serve him, he doesn’t even look 16. As manager, it is my ultimate responsibility and I can face thousands of pounds in fines or up to six months in prison.”

Mr Grisedale, 24, said that the Knowles Arms passed its latest police test purchase and that his staff were all ‘hot’ on asking for ID under the Challenge 21 initiative.

He praised the Consequences campaign, adding: “There seems to be more and more of these types of incidents and this action is definitely something I support.”

Mr Grisedale said there could have been a number of factors which enabled Upton to drink at the Knowles Arms on a warm summer’s evening last July.

He said: “The previous landlord is not a bad guy. He ran this place for eight years so if he was letting in under-age drinkers he would have been caught.

“He made it into the place it is now. He had a good reputation and still does.”

The Live Lounge has been jointly run by Paul McGurty and his co-owner for 12 months.

It was to be the final destination for Adam Rogers and his group of friends, as well as Upton and his party, in the early hours of July 5.

Each time the case has hit the headlines, so too has the independent nightclub.

Mr McGurty, 39, said he was ‘devastated’ at Adam’s death, but was quick to set the record straight.

“Billy Upton never once bought a drink on that night. I got a call from Blackburn CID around 8am on that same morning and spent hours going through our CCTV footage to trace his movements.

“Upton spent most of his time outside, only popping in occasionally to talk to someone on the dancefloor.

“We’ve had some negative publicity, but what happened to Adam was absolutely devastating for anyone who knew him.”

Mr Mcurty explained that their licence conditions allow for anyone over the age of 16 to be on the premises – a clause put in to enable them to host young up-and-coming musicians, as well as their friends and family.

Mr McGurty backed the Consequences campaign, adding: “It must be absolutely traumatic for Adam’s family and I applaud what they are doing. This campaign is a great idea to try and stop these types of incidents happening again.

“It was one punch in a thousand and there’s a lot of ‘if onlys’, but it’s one punch too many.”