We were singled out, say couple

Reporter: KAREN DOHERTY
Date online: 08/09/2009

Wine bar owners vow to re-open

THE owners of a bar which was closed after a triple stabbing in Oldham town centre have vowed to re-open.

Nichola Collins and Winston Eastmond are threatening to sue the police and the council after emergency powers were used to shut Brownz Wine Bar on Yorkshire Street.

They feel that they have been singled out and claim no action has been taken against other bars which have had dozens of incidents.

And they claim that the motivation is racist — an accusation which has been vehemently denied — and that they have lost £30,000.

Nichola told how it had been the couple’s dream to open a smart wine bar for the over-25s in Oldham.

“We are just a normal couple who wanted to open a nice, posh wine bar and do Champagne cocktails like we drink at the Living Room in Manchester.

“We stopped drinking in Oldham because it became too rough. We wanted to target the same people we mix with when we go drinking. We wanted the same atmosphere.

“We actually met in the bar, that’s why we felt so passionate about it.”

Brownz had been open for seven months when trouble flared in the early hours of March 27. Three revellers were stabbed outside.

Nichola added: “We know what’s happened, we watched the CCTV over and over again.

“Three lads from Manchester have tried to pinch a chain off another lad’s neck.

“There’s a scuffle and the door staff have ejected them within a minute. They then go to a car and pull a knife out. We did not see them stabbing anyone — it happened elsewhere.

“It wasn’t a mass brawl. We ejected them, that’s all we can do. We can’t follow them.”

The bar was the first in Oldham to be closed using emergency police powers. Its licence was then revoked and an appeal was later withdrawn.

Nichola is now working extra hours as a nail technician while Winston faces the prospect of signing on.

They claim the police have never explained why Winston was not suitable be the licence holder, and wrongly named his son as one of the stab victims

The couple also refute that Winston did not fully co-operate with officers after the incident — and say they even managed to find out that the people responsible had targeted other bars.

Nichola will now apply for the licence, but is upset that it can’t be in Winston’s name.

She cried as she told how it had affected their lives: “It’s making me ill. As soon as we get up in the morning, there is something else to do.

“It’s never-ending. We just wish we had never bothered.”

Supt Chris Sykes, from Oldham Community Safety Service, said the incident has taken violence in the town centre to a new level.

He added: “Three people received serious knife wounds, one of whichwas to the spine and potentially life-threatening on the night.

“The review process that resulted was based purely upon fact and was totally transparent. We liaised with Mr Eastmond throughout the proceedings.”

Councillor Mark Alcock, Cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, disputed the racism allegation.

He said that 15 town centre pubs has signed up to drinks restrictions and added: “Everything we do is to make Oldham a safe place to come and enjoy themselves.”