Ex-Wolves defender rapped after allowing lock-ins at wine bar despite warning

Chill Wine Bar in Tettenhall, which is owned by former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Mo Camara, has been given a slap on the wrist by Wolverhampton Council for allowing three lock-ins earlier this year.

The bar, which opened in the village’s High Street in 2017, will have its licence suspended for a month after a ruling by Wolverhampton councillors on July 31.

Mr Camara has also been removed as the bar’s supervisor after allowing drinks to be served to a packed bar on consecutive weekends in February and again in March – despite a warning from the council. He remains the venue’s licence holder.

Councillor Zee Russell, who chaired the hearing, said the council could not allow Mr Camara to get off ‘scot-free’ after the serious breaches.

Lisa Richardson-Lewty, representing Mr Camara, said there were “no excuses” for the after-hour openings and it was “wholly unacceptable".

Licensing officers at Wolverhampton Council had called for Mr Camara to be removed as the bar’s supervisor and for the licence to be suspended for up to three months.

Mrs Richardson-Lewty said Mr Camara had made “poor management decisions” and the wine bar was now employing an “established and knowledgeable” supervisor that was a “considered choice and not just a name on a piece of paper.”

She said the wine bar could not afford to close for three months and was happy to remove Mr Camara as the licence holder if necessary.

The council’s licensing manager Greg Bickerdike dismissed claims that only ‘soft’ drinks had been served after hours as “fanciful at best” and criticised Mr Camara for staying open when he should not have – and again after a warning.

“If he is not capable of understanding ‘don’t open past these hours’ then I don’t know what hope we have for the rest of the conditions being implemented correctly,” he told the hearing.

The licensing hearing heard many revellers in Tettenhall would finish their nights at Mr Camara’s bar after leaving nearby pubs at midnight.

The wine bar agreed to cut its closing time by half an hour to align with nearby pubs to prevent it from drawing crowds looking to grab a ‘quick’ drink.

The investigation into the wine bar started with a complaint from Tettenhall councillor Jonathan Crofts over after-hours trading at the ex-Wolves defender’s wine bar on two consecutive weekends in February this year.

Councillor Crofts said people were seen entering the bar at around 2am – an hour after closing – on February 4 and leaving at around 5.30am “shouting and banging car doors".

The former Wolves man told the council he was out of the country when it arranged to visit in February and no other staff were able to access the wine bar’s CCTV.

The council eventually visited later that month but was told the CCTV footage was unavailable as it was only stored for two weeks – despite the bar’s licence stating that recordings must be kept for at least 30 days.

However, CCTV footage did show the bar full on February 18 this year with drinks continuing to be served at 1.30am.

Mr Camara was warned by the council and given 14 days to provide the CCTV footage – recordings the council said were “incomplete” when handed over.

Another complaint that the venue was open after hours again on March 18, despite the warning, was later confirmed by CCTV.

Mr Camara played 45 times for Wolves in the early '00s in a spell that saw the Guinea international become a cult hero at Molineux. He also made appearances for Celtic, Burnley and Derby.