Baseball bat attack, 10-person brawl and a bomb threat - Kettering nightclub has licence suspended

A Kettering nightclub where nine assaults and a bomb threat have taken place since the turn of the New Year has had its licence suspended.

Police visiting Brooklyn Bar have dealt with a baseball bat attack, found drug deal bags behind a toilet and searched for an explosive device over an alleged ‘drugs feud’.

And now the Ebenezer Place venue will be shut for 28 days after councillors ruled it was necessary to temporarily suspend the licence pending a full review.

An expedited licensing hearing at Kettering’s council chamber was held yesterday (Wednesday) after an application by Northamptonshire Police this week.

PC David Bryan, Northamptonshire Police's licensing officer, told councillors about a series of incidents either inside or outside the nightclub since the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Two violent episodes took place as revellers celebrated the start of 2023, with one at 6.30am. The meeting heard the nightclub should have closed at 5.30am – but Cllr Anne Lee (Lab) said that it had advertised that it would be staying open until 11am, which it did. PC Bryan said nightclub manager Rares Racasan had stated that he could operate for 36 hours using a law that was brought in for the Millennium celebrations in 2000, but that it had been deregulated in 2003.

Councillors were told that three women were assaulted inside the venue on January 22. Then, at 5am on January 28, police attended after a report from CCTV operators that a man had been attacked with a baseball bat. The suspect scarpered before police arrived and the victim wouldn’t co-operate.

Meeting chairman Cllr Jonathan Ekins (Con) asked: "Did any of the SIA (Security Industry Authority) staff have bodycam?"

PC Bryan replied: "Not to my knowledge, no."

On February 11 two more violent incidents took place but on both occasions door staff would not make statements to police.

At 2am a man was ejected and a small bag of white powder was found in his pocket but, as police made their search, he tried to run off. He assaulted door staff and had to be sprayed with incapacitant spray.

Then, at 5.30am, police were guided to an incident where a member of staff was assaulted. It then became what PC Bryan described as a ‘10-person brawl’. Door staff were reported as being ‘not helpful’ with the initial dealing of the incident, the police application said.

PC Bryan said: "We did our bit there and we were not supported the other way."

And at 9pm on February 17 another incident was called in to Northamptonshire Police's control room.

PC Bryan said: "We had a report of a bomb threat and that this was due to a drugs feud. I can tell you that there was no bomb found on the premises.

"The investigation is live and we have lines of enquiry to follow. Whether it was malicious, we do not know."

The police application said that, during the search, mould was found in a freezer and ‘empty drug deal bags’ were found behind a toilet.

On Monday (February 20) the windows to the premises were also smashed, PC Bryan added.

He said: "We are getting a pattern of behaviour at the premises. Whether the victim wants police involvement or not does not take away from the fact we have had nine assaults happen.

"We feel that for public safety over crime and disorder that the appropriate action we would like you to consider is suspending [the licence] for 28 days."

Nobody from Brooklyn Bar was present at the hearing as the committee of Cllr Ekins, Cllr Lee and Cllr Jennie Bone (Con) deliberated for 20 minutes before making a decision.

Chairman Cllr Ekins said the incidents had not complied with licensing objectives and the committee ruled that the nightclub’s premises licence would be suspended with immediate effect until a full review next month. They also ruled that all licences held by Mr Racasan would be suspended.