1. 6 News
Crush death nightclub where KU
student was killed faces no charges
Fashion students lose 42
valuable workshop hours
SPECIAL OFFER FOR KINGSTON ROTUNDA PIZZA EXPRESS
Elizabeth Stromme
NO CRIMINAL charges will be
brought against a Northampton
nightclub after a 19-year-old KU
student was crushed to death.
Laurene-Danielle Jackson, who
was studying psychology and
criminology in her second-year,
was crushed to death when “dis-
order” erupted at the Luminar
Leisure-run nightclub Lava & Ig-
nite in October 2011.
The Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS) said there was “no realistic
prospect” of conviction following
the tragedy due to “insufficient
evidence”.
After an investigation by North-
amptonshire Police and Health
and Safety investigators from
Northampton Borough Council,
the CPS was asked to consider the
offence of gross negligence man-
slaughter against the club’s gener-
al manager and head of security.
Dan Jones, of the CPS Special
Crime Division, said: “There is no
evidence of any previous issues
with overcrowding at this loca-
tion in the club.
“[There is no] sufficient evi-
dence to show that the manager
deliberately disregarded people’s
safety; as soon as the crush began
to develop he took steps to try and
stop it.
“In light of all this evidence,
there is insufficient evidence to
provide a realistic prospect of a
conviction for gross negligence
manslaughter.
“The death of these two young
women on a night out with
friends is a real tragedy and our
thoughts remain with the fami-
lies of Nabila and Dani. We have
written to them to explain our de-
cision in detail.”
An estimated 1,500 students
from around the UK attended the
hip-hop and R&B night at Lave &
Ignite and witnesses said students
rushed for the exits following an
announcement that coaches were
leaving soon to take them home,
when the fire alarm went off
causing added confusion.
A friend who was with Jackson
at Lava & Ignite, but who did not
wish to be named, told The Riv-
er in 2011: “It was jam-packed
and people were climbing over
each other like animals. We were
told she must have fallen or been
pushed down the stairs.”
He described the intense heat,
crowding and sense of danger
among the 1,300-plus in the club
and said: “I do not want this to
happen to anyone else.”
Jackson, who lived in Shep-
herd’s Bush at the time, died in
hospital of her injuries two weeks
after the incident.
In a 2012 press release, Jack-
son’s parents, Angela Ferdinand
and Ronato Jackson, stated they
wanted answers so they could try
to understand why they lost their
daughter: “Laurene-Danielle was
only 19 and still had a lot to give
in her life and we just need to
know what happened.
“We do not want Laurene-Dan-
ielle’s death to go unanswered.”
A spokesperson for the Lumi-
nar Group LTD stressed they had
nothing to do with the Luminar
Leisure and could not comment
on the case.
Luminar Leisure went into ad-
ministration soon after the inci-
dent and ceased trading in 2011.
Nabila Nanfuka, 22, from North
London, who was studying leisure
and tourism at the University of
Northampton, also died following
the club disorder.
People rushing to exits at the Northampton club REX FEATURES
ANGRY fashion students at
Knights Park have started
a petition after new rules
mean they will lose up to
42 workshops hours each
week.
The knitting and sewing
workshops are now only
available from 9.30am to
5pm on weekdays, and are
closed on weekends.
In previous years the
workshops have been avail-
able at the same hours as
the rest of the university,
This means the students
lose six hours a day and 12
hours on the weekend.
Third year students Bonnie
Gibbons and Nathalie
McCubbin said: “They are
taking our education away.
We are not going to have
as much practice, and it is
going to make it harder for
us to meet deadlines.
“Fashion is not a nine to
five industry. We are just
asking to be allowed to
work.”
The students have started
a petition, and so far it has
gained over 100 signatures.
They aim to take it all the
way to the Dean and ask
him to look at their cause.
The University said
the new system had been
introduced to ensure the
workshops are now always
supervised, to prevent ac-
cidents and damage to the
machines.
Course director on BA
Fashion, Elinor Renfrew,
said: “Final year students
will get the same access
to machins as in previous
years.
“The missing hours are a
myth as no studio with in-
dustrial machinery should
have open access outside of
supervised times.”
The third years disputed
this, saying the workshops
had always been available
at the same time as the
other studios.
Student representative
Natalie Simmonds said:
“We are speaking on behalf
of all the third years when
we say we don’t know
what should or shouldn’t
have happened last year,
but we have always had
access to the workshops
before.
“We used to be able to
stay until nine, regardless
of how it might have sup-
posed to be officially.
“We should not have to
fight to be able to use the
workshops.
“We are also concerned
by the fact that the number
of students in the years
below us have significantly
increased will mean that
the capacity of the work-
shops will be even more
stretched,” she said.
In practice the machines
are often unavailable for
third year students, who
have to compete with first
and second year workshops
for production time.
“No year should have
to suffer. It is simply not
possible for all of us to have
access.
“Especially when you
consider the fact that our
year is the first to have had
to pay higher fees, so it is
unreasonable that we get
less access to the work-
shops,” the student said.
Kaisa Berg