Police raid Lancs nightspot after club ignores order to close over 'risk to life' fire safety fears
A nightclub was raided by police at the weekend after breaching an order to close over fire safety fears.
More than a dozen officers were called to Proj3kt in Hammerton Street in the early hours of Saturday after the club opened in breach of a prohibition notice issued by the fire service.
The nightspot was ordered to shut its doors with immediate effect on Friday after fire safety officers inspected the premises and said “people's lives were at risk”.
The inspection found there were “serious fire safety concerns” which required fixing before the club could be deemed safe to reopen.
But nightclub bosses defied the order and continued to trade that same evening, before police attended and ordered revellers to leave the venue at around 1.30am on Saturday.
A police spokesperson said: “We attended the Proj3kt nightclub around 1.30am on Saturday, October 18 to assist door staff with the safe closure and clearance of the premises.
“The premises had opened in breach of a prohibition notice served on October 17 by the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.”
The nightclub responded with a statement on Facebook on Sunday morning (see below).
“People's lives are at risk” say fire service
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “On Friday (October 17), LFRS attended Proj3kt nightclub on Hammerton Street in Burnley.
“Due to serious fire safety concerns, our firefighters issued a prohibition notice, which remains in place.
“Whilst the owner of the property can appeal, we are unable to go into further details.
“As the regulator for fire safety, we take our responsibilities seriously but fairly and we will only issue prohibition notices where people's lives are at risk.”
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was approached for an update on the prohibition notice.