Pub chain fined over £1.5m following the death of a student

Durham University student Olivia Burt, 20, suffered severe head injuries when the heavy screen fell on her as she waited to get into the city’s Missoula bar in February 2018.

Teesside Crown Court heard the venue was full of student sports teams and a crowd had gathered outside.

As the queue swelled, a surge of people caused Ms Burt to be pushed through one of the screen’s panels before a section of it fell.

Ms Burt’s head hit the pavement and “the metal bar of the screen with the weight of other customers landed on her head”, jurors were told.

After a three-week trial, the Stonegate pub chain was found guilty of a health and safety breach over the fact that the screen also fell over 30 minutes before Ms Burt was hit.

Jurors heard it was merely lifted back into place and the chance to avoid tragedy was missed.

The firm, which has an annual turnover of up to £1 billion, was cleared of three other charges following a ruling by the judge.

On Friday, Judge Howard Crowson fined Stonegate £1.56m, and ordered the company to pay £225,774.26 in costs.

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.”

Ms Burt, who was from Milford on Sea, Hampshire, was in her first year studying life sciences when she died.

After the verdict on Thursday, her parents Paula and Nigel criticised Stonegate for “disregarding the safety” of customers by using the screens.

They said in a statement outside court: “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 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.”

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.”