Olivia Burt: Stonegate guilty of safety breach after student's death outside club
The UK’s biggest pub group has been found guilty of breaching safety rules which led to the death of a first-year student outside a club.
Durham University student Olivia Burt, 20, died when she was crushed by a decorative screen while she was queuing for the Missoula bar in the city, in 2018.
The life sciences student suffered "unsurvivable" head injuries when the screen fell on her.
Her death was said to be "senseless and avoidable" by prosecutors as the screen had already fallen half an hour before it crushed her, but had been put back in place.
Stonegate, which owns the bar, now the Slug and Lettuce, was today found guilty of a single count of breaching health and safety legislation, by a jury at Teesside Crown Court.
The judge earlier ruled that Stonegate should be cleared of three other charges.
Ms Burt, from Milford on Sea, in Hampshire, was described as an "innocent woman" who had done "nothing wrong".
Jamie Hill, prosecuting, told the jury earlier in the week: “The reality is that as soon as the venue, which had become the first choice venue for students on a Wednesday night, was confronted with more customers than they could accommodate within their own set limits, all of the planning and all the risk assessments came to nought.”
CCTV shown during the trial
Stonegate had argued it had done all it can to avoid the tragedy.
The company will be sentenced later today.
Judge Howard Crowson will hear victims’ statements and will be given an assessment of costs before he sets the fine.
He thanked the jury for the “heavy burden” they took on in deciding the three-week case.
Speaking after the verdict, Olivia's parent's Nigel and Paula said: "Olivia was our only child and meant everything to us. It is incomprehensible to us how she could have died on a night out with friends whilst simply standing in a queue.
"Stonegate is the largest pub company in the UK. According to their annual report 2022, Stonegate doubled their revenue to £1.6 billion and their vision is ‘to raise the bar on the British pub by being the best for our guests, people and communities.’ This did not happen at Missoula and led to the death of our wonderful daughter.
"Stonegate should never have used decorative fencing for crowd management. Stonegate knew the fencing was not safe after it nearly collapsed the previous year and collapsed just 30 minutes earlier on the night that Olivia died. Stonegate showed a complete dereliction of their duties and disregard for the safety of those attending, including Olivia.
"It has been a long journey. We wish to thank Durham County Council for bringing the prosecution and all the witnesses present on the night that Olivia died for having the courage to come to court to give evidence. Our heartbreak and pain have been prolonged by Stonegate pleading not guilty and fighting the case to trial. We have been waiting 1,976 days for Stonegate to be held criminally responsible. We thank the jury for seeing through Stonegate’s smoke and mirrors defence blaming everyone but themselves for what happened to Olivia.
"No punishment will bring Olivia back, but we ask the court to impose the maximum sentence in recognition of the fact that Stonegate was responsible for Olivia’s death and destroying our family. Olivia was at the start of her adult life in her first year at university and had so much to look forward to; this was taken away from her in the cruellest possible way.
"Our lives will never be the same again – we are heartbroken."
Helen Lynch, Durham County Council’s head of legal and democratic services, said: "First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Olivia's family. This has been a particularly difficult and lengthy process for them and we would like to thank them for their patience throughout.
"We are pleased with today's outcome and hope it goes some way towards providing justice for Olivia and her family.”
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