Stonegate fined £1.56m over death of Olivia Burt outside Durham club
A pub company has been fined £1.56m following the death of a first-year student outside a nightclub.
Durham University student Olivia Burt was crushed and died when a decorative screen fell on her outside Missoula bar in February 2018.
Stonegate, the UK's largest pub company, has been standing trial accused of four health and safety breaches.
It was cleared of three of the charges, but on Thursday 6 July was found guilty of failing to ensure the health and safety of those attending its venue.
A sentencing hearing took place at Teesside Crown Court on Friday 7 July, where the company was fined £1.56m and told to pay court costs of £225,774.26
Nigel Burt speaking outside Teesside Crown Court following Stonegate's conviction
Ms Burt, from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, who was studying life sciences, was queuing outside the club when the screen fell on her.
During a trial, jurors were told the screen also fell over 30 minutes before Ms Burt was hit but it was merely lifted back into place and the chance to avoid tragedy was missed.
The judge said the screens were designed for decoration, not crowd control.
He said he did not accept the defence argument that the screens in themselves were not dangerous.
“Once the screen had fallen there was obviously a risk it would do so again,” Judge Crowson said.
“In this case, in my view, the breach led to the death of Olivia Burt.”
He said Ms Burt’s family had suffered an “incomprehensible tragedy”, adding: “The sentence does not attempt to measure the worth of Olivia’s life. Olivia’s life is, of course, priceless.”
During a hearing on Thursday, Nigel and Paula Burt recalled their daughter’s smile and infectious laugh, describing her as her mother’s best friend.
Her mother said: “Olivia was my whole world. Now Olivia is dead.
“She was taken from us in the cruelest possible way.”
A man was jailed after an internet troll posted messages about Ms Burt on Facebook after her death, they also said.
The parents criticised Stonegate outside court.
They said in a statement: “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.
CCTV from outside Missoula on the night Ms Burt died
“Stonegate showed a complete dereliction of their duties and disregard for the safety of those attending, including Olivia.”
The family had to wait for over five years for justice and go through the trial process because the firm denied the health and safety breach.
They said: “It has been a long journey.
“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.”
They added: “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.”
Jamie Hill KC earlier summarised the prosecution case, brought by Durham County Council, saying: “It is perhaps difficult to understand how it is that a 20-year-old woman could die in such a senseless and avoidable way.
“All she was doing was standing with her friends, waiting to get in to a club which had targeted the student population as a way of filling their venue on Wednesday nights.”
Prashant Popat KC, defending, apologised in court for the breach of the firm’s duty to reduce risk, saying: “Stonegate is very sorry for that failure.
“It is a conscientious, responsible and safety-conscious organisation that prides itself on the care and attention it gives to all those who may be affected by its operations.”
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