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Birmingham nightclub has licence revoked after fatal stabbing

The Crane venue has been closed since footballer Cody Fisher was stabbed on the dancefloor on Boxing Day 2022.

Richard Vernalls
Tuesday 24 January 2023 18:46 GMT
Police outside the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham (Phil Barnett/PA)
Police outside the Crane nightclub in Digbeth, Birmingham (Phil Barnett/PA) (PA Wire)

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A Birmingham nightclub where a footballer died after a knife attack has been shut down after having its operating licence revoked.

West Midlands Police said the club’s on-going operation posed “terrifying risks” to patrons, amid “blatant” and widespread drug use, and “inadequate” security measures, which had also allowed a knife to enter the venue.

The force previously said there had been “serious management failings” at the Crane venue, when officers responded to the fatal stabbing of Cody Fisher, 23, in Digbeth, Birmingham, on Boxing Day 2022.

The club’s licence had been suspended for 28 days after an interim meeting held in December, but on Tuesday, a Birmingham City Council licensing committee ordered the licence to be revoked, after an application by the police force.

The council also continued the existing suspension first handed down on December 30 2022, meaning the club cannot reopen while any appeal against the decision by its operator and licence-holder Digital Arts Media Ltd is considered.

Three men, aged between 18 and 22, have been charged with Mr Fisher’s murder and remanded into custody awaiting trial, set to be held in July.

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