The event at Local Studios in Witham, was unlicenced
The smoking area at Local Studios, Witham(Image: Hull City Council)
Two men have been jailed following the tragic death of a young woman during an unlicensed event at a nightclub-style venue in Hull. Jaime Jones-Knight died after going over the wall of a first-floor smoking area, and falling through the roof of the neighbouring business.
She was seriously injured in the incident in April 2022, and later, sadly died in hospital.. The owners of the venue, Local Studios, at 81 Witham, Connor Joseph Gibbs and Connor Reece Dukes, were sentenced to 10 and 12 months respectively.
They both pleaded guilty to offences under Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The pair were sentenced at Hull Crown Court.
Following Ms Jones-Knight’s death, an investigation was carried out by officers from Hull City Council’s Public Protection team, alongside colleagues in Humberside Police. Dukes and Gibbs failed to supply documents requested, including:
- Details of any relevant risk assessments, method statements, operating schedule or similar, that were in place at the time of the incident
- Details of any inspections and checks, or other monitoring systems that were in place at the time of the incident
- Details of any relevant staff training records.
Before the incident, in February 2022, a licensing officer visited the venue; Gibbs informed him it was to be used as a recording studio, and for events. At the time of the visit, Gibbs was aware such events needed to be licensed, and planned to use Temporary Event Notices (TENs) as an interim measure.
Two TENs were submitted by Connor Gibbs, under the name of Connor Dukes, for events scheduled before the tragedy. However, no TENs were received for the event that took place on April 8, 2022.
A CCTV camera trained on the smoking area showed only a small part of it near the entrance, and did not extend to the external wall, where Ms Jones-Knight fell. The footage showed the area was not staffed or monitored, despite being used by large numbers of those in the venue. A further camera focussed on the busy dancefloor also revealed an absence of staff or security personnel.
Speaking after the sentencing, Rachel Stephenson, Head of Public Protection at Hull City Council, said: “This case concerned the tragic and preventable death of a young woman who had her whole life ahead of her.
“On the night of this incident, Dukes and Gibbs were knowingly hosting an unlicensed – and therefore illegal – event. Any reasonable risk assessment of the premises would have identified the risk to members of the public, but they had failed to carry these out and so failed to put any safety measure in place.
“Their breaches of health and safety legislation, which is there for the protection of everyone, meant that Jaime Jones-Knight lost her life. It was important that this prosecution was pursued, to secure justice for her, and her family. All those involved offer our sincere condolences to her loved ones.”
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