Freshers’ Week incident at popular Exeter student club raises serious safety concerns

An incident during Freshers’ Week at a popular Exeter nightclub has raised serious safety concerns for students.

A young woman fell down a set of stairs in Timepiece before being moved out of the venue by security, prompting calls for a licence review.

CCTV viewed by Exeter City Council’s licensing committee showed the first year student being helped out of the toilets by friends before she collapsed backwards down a metal staircase and was carried outside by door staff, the BBC reports. 

Lawyer David Dadds, who is acting on behalf of the student and brought about Timepiece’s licence review, said employees “failed to provide basic care”.

However, the nightclub told Exeter City Council’s licensing committee staff did everything required to ensure the student got home, and were “compassionate” with her.

One employee tried to arrange a taxi, and the young woman left Timepiece alongside friends who were helping her.

However, the student was seen face down on the pavement nearby around 20 minutes after leaving, and her friend called an ambulance.

The incident has raised serious safety concerns for students

The young woman had been drinking inside the venue, including Tiki Fire overproof rum, shortly before her collapse.

There has been speculation she might have been spiked, but police said there was no evidence to support this.

David, who is not being financially reimbursed for representing the student and is doing so for the public good, said the incident was “a series of repeated failures where staff failed to provide basic care.”

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The lawyer told the committee the student was “coming in and out of consciousness”. He said security staff should have checked for potential head or spinal injuries and monitored for signs of a concussion.

David told councillors: “Door staff had the opportunity to intervene and do the right thing.

“We could have been looking at a death here.”

Timepiece said staff did everything required to ensure the student got home

According to Devon Live, the lawyer requested new licence conditions, including welfare officers on site during Freshers’ Week and busy periods, and better staff training for dealing with vulnerable customers. He supported a ban on selling over-strength drinks like Tiki Fire during the first week of term.

The club says it has stopped selling Tiki Fire overproof rum.

The council also heard about a separate Freshers’ Week incident at Timepiece in 2024. An Exeter University student collapsed about 500 metres from the club after a night out and went into a coma for a month.

The university paid for accommodation so his parents could stay nearby while he was in hospital and a spokesperson said it “always seek[s] to support the families of students in any way we can when they face traumatic circumstances.”

Timepiece’s legal representative, Christopher Rees-Gay, told the committee the club had been “an institution” in Exeter since 1975. The venue has never previously had its licence reviewed.

He said the student was “not in medical distress” and described door staff as “compassionate” and “almost motherly” in their efforts to get her home. 

Christopher said allegations about the club’s care and welfare of customers were “totally unfounded”. He criticised what he called “overkill” in some descriptions of the night.

Premises licence holder Rob Skinner, who had managed Timepiece since 1983, said the review process had been “stressful and overwhelming” for him and his team.

Rob said: “I look on our customers as somebody’s daughters and somebody’s sons to be looked after.”

He added that staff “do the best we can, sometimes under very difficult circumstances.”

The committee also heard Timepiece had been running its door team internally at the time of the incident. The venue obtained the proper accreditation shortly after this was raised by the police.

Police Sergeant David Flynn told councillors “nothing concerns me in relation to due diligence” after watching CCTV footage of what he described as a “minor fall” which friends and door staff responded to quickly.

In his closing remarks, David said Timepiece “must do better” to protect new students. He added that students may be unfamiliar with heavy drinking, Exeter’s nightlife and the layout of venues during Freshers’ Week.

Exeter City Council’s licensing committee considered about six hours of evidence. The committee is due to publish its final decision on Timepiece’s licence within five working days.

Featured image via Google Maps