Birmingham's Gatecrasher nightclub forced to close amid alleged stabbing and claims of aggressive behaviour from staff

Gatecrasher, which welcomes up to 2,400 revellers a night, has had its licence suspended after claims violence broke out last Saturday night.

Action was taken after security staff allegedly used a fire extinguisher, plastic tub containing chemicals and a tray of glass bottles as 'weapons' against a group of men during an altercation.

Around six weeks ago the venue was warned at a licencing hearing that it was in the 'last chance saloon' after another alleged attack.

But now Birmingham City Council's licencing committee has suspended its licence until a full hearing takes place on November 23.

A stabbing took place inside the premises where a young man was injured in the leg, according to council licencing officials.

In a report from the council's licencing sub committee, officials said: "The sub committee determined the causes of the serious disorder originated from the actions of the door men, who behaved irresponsibly and aggressively towards a group of agitated men who had been initially ejected from the premises, and the inability of the club management to deal with the number of incidents that arose inside and outside the premises in a responsible manner at all."

The report said, in CCTV footage shown to the committee, a group of men were allegedly chased by the door supervisors, who were each carrying a fire extinguisher, a plastic tub containing chemicals and a tray of glasses, which were thrown at the group.

A second clip of CCTV footage, provided by the police, from the end of Broad Street showed the entrance to the premises and showed 'serious disorder'.

The report added: "The group of men (who had left through the exit of the service yard) were the instigators of the disorder, carrying weapons and attacking members of the public randomly.

"Members saw that the group of men exchanged knives amongst themselves, and that there was a highly charged atmosphere between the men of group and the door men.

"Aggressive body language could be seen and objects used as missiles to attack each group by members of each party.

"There was clearly a disregard for public safety and a lack of responsibility shown to control the conflict by the premises and their door supervisors."

Gatecasher has been unavailable for comment.