Blackburn town centre 'turning into a no-go zone at night'

Police have compiled the shocking report of 65 incidents linked to Cheers in King William Street, which have never been made public, to show the extent of the problem in the last nine months.

Amongst the incidents are attacks with baseball bats, knuckledusters and bottles, mass brawls, sexual assault, exploitation of children, open use of drugs and running street battles.

It comes as Cheers bar and the adjoining Bella Roma restaurant had its licence revoked for being at the centre of under-age drinking.

Experienced town centre officers and landlords said they were ‘amazed’ that no-one had been killed outside the bar in King William Street, with one bar owner angry that nothing was done despite police being aware of the problem for months.

Police said they tried to work with managers Fajul Patel, 27, and Gino DiFilippo, to improve the premises but ordered a licensing hearing when their attempts failed.

They said the trouble centred on an “isolated badly run premises” and officers were working hard “with very good licensees” to reduce disorder.

During the hearing, Mr Patel claimed there had only been three arrests, but town centre Sgt Dave Clarke said the figure was between 20 to 30 connected with the bar.

The Live Lounge in Northgate was one of several town centre bars to register complaints.

Its statement, used as evidence against Cheers, said bosses were ‘utterly amazed’ at the level of violence week in and week out, with ‘running battles’ between ‘seriously underage kids’.

It said: “Why on earth have the police and council not done anything about it?

"Someone will end up dead unless it is closed.”

Live Lounge joint manager and music promoter Peter Eastwood, 48, from Pleckgate, said: “Nobody is in control of it.

"Every single weekend I wait for my taxi and watch as drunk little children as young as 12 and 13 fight in the street and kick each other in the head.

"It was no different this weekend as it was three months ago.

“I see police standing there ‘observing’ as people fall into the road and I just find it beyond words that it has been allowed to go on so long with everybody aware of the issues there.

“People my age don’t want to go into town because of a fear of violence and this makes it worse.

"It is hard to convince people to come to the Live Lounge when there’s all this trouble right across the road.

“I see horrendous sights on a weekly basis which are being allowed to happen and we are taking a step backwards.”

Consequences campaigner Ged Johnson, the uncle of Adam Rogers, who was killed by a single punch in Blackburn town centre, said he did not believe things had improved since his nephew’s tragic death in July 2009.

He said: “Despite what figures show, there is the perception that Blackburn is a no-go zone and that a night out in the town centre involved violence - particularly hearing about these sort of shocking scenes outside Cheers.

“The Consequences campaign is doing a lot of good work to change people’s behaviour, but there seems to be a particular mindset that it is not getting through to.

“I’ve heard from people they would rather go out in Darwen or Burnley than Blackburn because they feel safer elsewhere.

"It is ridiculous that things don’t seem to have changed since 2009 and have maybe gotten worse.”

Councillor Jim Smith said: “This place was very badly managed and full of kids.

"Blackburn needs a reboot of its nightlife.”

Margo Grimshaw added: “I think it is sad that Blackburn has this reputation as a no-go zone, whether it is deserved or not.

"But there is a feral age group who are drinking in big groups.

"It is dangerous and not good for the town’s social side.”

Tony Duckworth, president of the Blackburn Chamber of Trade, said: “People want to go on a night out and feel safe.

"Businesses that are not able to control their clientele ruin the reputation for the whole town.

“We need an improvement in the night-time economy but that has to go hand in hand with a certain respect for people’s well-being.”

At the hearing, CCTV footage was shown of several large scale outbreaks of disorder, which included punch-ups, and people unconscious on the floor being kicked and stamped on the head.

Town centre Sgt Dave Clarke said he hoped the closure of Cheers could be a clean slate for the town centre.

He said: “Year-on-year crime figures show violence in the town centre is down.

"This is one bar that doesn’t reflect the rest of the town centre.

“Hopefully this sends a warning to other premises that in these tough financial times, serving under-age customers is not the way forward.

“Most towns have got a bit of a reputation on a Friday and Saturday night that there will be violence and disorder, but people need to come out and experience it for themselves.

"The more decent, law-abiding people about means the fewer idiots there are to spoil it others.”

Chief Insp Peter Lawson said: “Cheers bar is an isolated badly-run premises and shouldn't detract from the very effective partnership approach with very good licensees reducing crime and disorder in Blackburn town centre.

“We had to have enough evidence to pass the threshold for a licensing revocation.

"An action plan was put in place and licensing visits carried out before Draconian measures to impact on the trade of a private business.

"But they just didn’t work and it left us with no choice.”

Cheers was given 21 days to appeal before it must close.

The damning dossier

* Men stamped on while under attack from large groups in 50-man brawl.

* Another 40-man brawl and ‘scenes of mass disorder’ need up to 20 officers to respond.

* Use of baseball bats, knuckledusters and bottles as weapons in ‘running street battles’.

* 14-year-old girl seriously sexually assaulted in alley behind Cheers where she had been drinking.

* Licence holder Fajul Patel writes to police about his ‘concerns’.

* Paramedics report a man unconscious with head injuries and not breathing following a large disturbance.

* Council bin collector bottled by gang of 15 as he cleans streets at 2am.

* Girls reported missing from home found drunk in the town centre bar.

* 10 vulnerable girls aged between 13-17 drinking in Cheers referred to Engage following ‘grave concerns’ about sexual exploitation.

* Girls cutting numbers out of The Bible to make fake ID.

* Blackburn with Darwen Coun Jim Smith tells police he saw five fights in Cheers in 30 minutes.

* Licence holder Gino DiFilippo fails a test purchasing operation by serving three 16-year-olds. He gets police caution.

n Man left unconscious for 20 minutes after fight in Northgate.

* Weekly licensing visits reveal persistent under-age drinking. And a 14-year-old working as glass-washer, and 17-year-old DJ.

* Letters from concerned parents to police claiming their 15-year-old daughter was ‘drugged or on alcohol’ and that they were ‘astounded’ at how many under-age drinkers were about, * Man glassed in Cheers bar while police inside doing licence visit.

* BlackBerry Messenger organised private under-age parties advertising ‘no ID’.

* The bar was closed down on New Year’s Eve as ‘beyond repair’ as 90 per cent of customers were under-age.

* Police obtain ‘Cheers VIP ID cards’ used by under-age customers.

* Statements from other landlords and police described scenes of ‘absolute chaos’ as ‘worst ever seen’.