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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alice Peacock

Nightclub where footballer Cody Fisher was killed will close after licence suspended

The club where Cody Fisher was fatally stabbed on Boxing Day will close, as a murder investigation into the 23-year-old's death continues.

Representatives for the Crane Club in Birmingham earlier said an application to have the venue's licence suspended would not be challenged.

A spokesperson told the Mirror this afternoon that it "cannot be “business as usual” at the Crane.

"We have not opposed the temporary licence suspension requested by the Police, pending the full Review Hearing, in order that we can focus on assisting West Midlands Police with their enquiries in the weeks ahead," they said.

The venue still faces permanent closure under a review that will be carried out by Birmingham City Council.

Today a meeting of the council’s licensing sub-committee suspended its licence after West Midlands Police said there had been “serious management failings” during the incident at the club in Digbeth.

Emergency services found the footballer on the dancefloor of Crane with a stab wound on Boxing Day.

Earlier today Free Radio News reported representatives for the club saying an application to have the venue's licence suspended will not be challenged.

Police outside Crane nightclub following the fatal stabbing (Getty Images)

"The usually public hearing is now going into a private meeting - so as not to prejudice the live murder investigation into Cody's death," the local news outlet said.

The full statement from the a spokesperson from the Crane said: "Following the tragedy of Boxing Day, our focus is absolutely on helping support the fullest possible investigation .

"It cannot be “business as usual” at the Crane, and we have not opposed the temporary licence suspension requested by the Police, pending the full Review Hearing, in order that we can focus on assisting West Midlands Police with their enquiries in the weeks ahead.

"It is much too early to comment on details or individual anecdotal accounts surrounding this appalling event; these must be sifted and assessed with care, and we welcome that.

"We recognise that issues such as checks and security facilities employed at the venue on that evening must come under close scrutiny, and whilst our contracted security staff are qualified professionals licensed by the SIA, this will nevertheless be the subject of a careful and detailed review."

Emergency services found Cody on the dancefloor of Crane with a stab wound on Boxing Day (Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)

News of the closure comes after a police officer who attended the scene of Cody Fisher's fatal stabbing on Thursday claimed that security staff at the nightclub tried to clear up evidence of drugs as the young man died.

Ahead of the hearing, Superintendent Sally Simpson described chaotic scenes surrounding Cody's death with attending officers noting evidence of drug taking at the venue, which opened in September of 2017.

'Hundreds' of small bags and empty nitrous oxide canisters were littered around the floor, she said.

She claimed Cody was fatally stabbed after a fight broke out on the dancefloor, Birmingham Live reports.

In her statement, Supt Simpson said: "On entry to the premises officers were asked by security to help with crowd control, which they said no, and ran in to commence CPR and assist the paramedics on the scene.

"On body-worn cameras, you will see staff wandering around all over the place like they're oblivious to what is happening.

"Further to this, they have started to clean the dancefloor further down from where the deceased was. Officers shouted at them to stop.

The nightclub is closed after representative did not challenge an application to have the venue's licence suspended (Getty Images)

"Whilst officers are doing CPR, you can see people just wandering around in the scene freely. As soon as we had more officers at the scene they were removed and the whole dancefloor was cordoned off and the area was made sterile.

"There were hundreds of small drug bags and nitrous oxide canisters all over the floor. These included the small and very large nitrous oxide canisters with balloons."

Supt Simpson added how the force is "concerned" over "how a knife was able to get inside the premises".

On why the venue's licence should be reviewed, she said: "Any control measures the premises may have had were found ineffective.

"This is compounded by the fact officers have seen evidence of drug use within the venue, which was openly on the dance floor.

"Also, the chaos noted by officers, with staff seemingly having no idea how to manage the situation or preserve the scene, again pointing towards lack or poor control measures and training."

Tributes left outside the venue (Getty Images)

Licensing officers will be asking for immediate measures to be put in place to 'ensure public safety', police said. The hearing over the Digbeth nightclub will be heard tomorrow (December 30).

The hearing comes as police on Thursday said a 22-year-old man has been detained following Cody's death, having been arrested in London at around 3am that morning.

He was the third person to be arrested on suspicion of murder, while four others have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The Adderley Street venue has already cancelled its New Year's Eve event following Cody's tragic death on Boxing Day.

A post-mortem yesterday confirmed that the 23-year-old died of a stab wound. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder, while four others were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

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