PRESS RELEASE - 2 March 2010

The manager of the Metropole in Bournemouth narrowly avoided going to prison after magistrates heard that he had operated the business in a highly unsafe way which posed a serious risk to the public.

The case was brought by Bournemouth Council when it was discovered that the business was illegally trading after their electricity was cut off. For power and lighting they were using electrical generators in a dangerous manner with some electrical equipment in contact with water in a partially flooded area. The premises was immediately closed and evacuated on the day that Council offices made their inspection in order to prevent an injury or fatality.

The case went to Bournemouth Magistrates on 25 February 2010 following a multi-agency inspection of the premises last August. The manager of the Metropole in Holdenhurst Road, Daniel Prowse was sentenced for 22 breaches of the premises licence. The offences included: insufficient ventilation, failure to provide an electrical test certificate, the toilets not kept in good order or repair, no emergency lighting and the fire warning system was not working.

Mr Prowse pleaded guilty and received the following sentence:

Six-week prison sentence, suspended for 24 months
12 months supervision – 200 hours of community service
£800 costs 

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Communities said: “I am pleased to see that the courts have taken strong action in this case. It is clear from the number and type of breaches to the licence that members of the public visiting the club were being put in danger and we cannot allow for this to happen.”

He added: “I would like to praise the work of the Council’s Licensing Officers, the police and officers in the fire service who have worked together to protect the public. We will continue to monitor licensed premises in the town to ensure the safety of visitors and local residents.”