Dramatic CCTV images
showing a gunman spraying a Mac 10 sub-machine gun around a
Midland nightclub, with customers cowering in fear, have been
shown to councillors.
The shocking footage
was played yesterday at a meeting of Sandwell Council’s
licensing panel as they met to consider the future of the
Cascade nightclub in West Bromwich.
The Black Country
Mail revealed a month ago how terror came to the club when two
gunmen, one armed with the sub-machine gun, marched into the
foyer of the High Street club at 4am on May 17.
More details
about the terrifying incident came to light at the meeting, with
Sandwell licensing officer Insp Pat Smythe revealing that “at
least eight rounds” were fired from the machine gun.
The incident led
to police slapping a closure order on the club and strict
conditions being applied.
Police yesterday
asked for last entry to the club to be fixed at 1am, with Insp
Smythe also offering to compromise at 1.30am. But the panel,
chaired by Coun Joy Edis, decided to impose 2am as the last
entry to the club, which has been open for seven months.
The panel heard
that since the incident, the club has upgraded its CCTV and
brought in a top security firm.
Insp Smythe said
he would not put up with premises which had the propensity to
attract people with machine guns.
But Angela
Edwards, wife of licensee George Edwards, said the incident was
a “reckless, mindless act” which the club could do nothing
about.
She told the
committee that the club had been unfairly blamed for what had
happened.
Mrs Edwards said:
“We do take safety very seriously at Cascade and we need to be
working in partnership with police to do something about the
disaffected youth in the area.”
Insp Smythe said
he accepted the decision. He said he hoped the strict security
measures now in place at Cascade would prevent any similar
incidents.
