Apr 16 2004

By Enda Mullen

A FRESH start for the borough's biggest pub and nightclub - shut down by police over the Easter weekend - could prove good news for Solihull town centre.

That is the verdict of a borough police inspector who says spiralling problems at Rosie's Pump House and RB's Nightclub stemmed from the complex attracting "the wrong people".

Inspector Ian Grant, who is in charge of policing in the town centre, also revealed the popular venue had strained police resources with people being arrested there virtually every week.

Police were called to the High Street nightclub following a brawl involving 30 people or more in the early hours of last Saturday.

Doormen had struggled to contain the unrest, which twice ended up back inside, when more people became involved.

The bar and club were subsequently shut down by the police, who then obtained an order forcing them to remain closed.

They were to apply to extend the order on Tuesday morning but withdrew the application at the eleventh hour after a meeting with owners M&B.

Both the pub and club will now remain closed for several weeks, while they undergo refurbishment, before re-opening.

Inspector Grant praised the company, who have pledged to work with the police to quell problems at the venue once and for all.

He said: "M&B have are a very responsible company and aware of their responsibilites to seek a solution to some of the problems that have occurred recently.

"They are looking at working strategically with the police to counteract some of the problems that have occurred

"Court is the last place on earth you want to take this, especially as they are more than happy to work with us.

"They will re-open with a fresh look, which is good for the town."

But despite his praise for M&B Insp Grant was forthright in his condemnation of the situation that had developed prior to last weekend's closure.

He said: "It would be wrong for me to apportion blame but there were issues with the kind of people going in there that were taking up a lot of police time.

"It has got to improve because the situation had got to the point where people were getting arrested every week.

"It had been slowly going downhill and had gathered a bad reputation, attracting the wrong sort of people. All it does is spoil the reputation of the town, which is a shame.

"I am sure that out of disappointment will come a better scenario. It is in the past now and we have got to draw a line under that. It is the way forward that counts now - not the past." n Five men were charged with affray following last week's disorder.

Apr 15 2004

By Anna Jeys, Evening Mail

Bosses of a club at the centre of a mass brawl have agreed to stay shut while they hold crisis talks with police.

Rosie's Pump House and RB's nightclub has avoided having a further closure notice slapped on it by police after the fight involving 30 people last weekend.

The controversial Soli-hull club has been shut since Saturday morning after the brawl broke out at 2am.

Police and club staff battled to bring the fracas under control and agreed to close the club until Tuesday when Solihull magistrates were due to consider extending the closure notice.

But police withdrew their application at the court on the eve of the hearing and club bosses agreed to keep it closed while they decide the best way forward with police.

The club looks unlikely to be open this weekend and a Mitchell and Butlers spokesman said there were "no immediate plans" to re-open.

Five men were arrested after the fight and have been charged with affray. They have been bailed to appear at Soli-hull Magistrates Court.

A police spokesman said: "Police and the owners of Rosies have resolved the issues informally and the club will remain closed for a short period.

"This is the club's decision and is on a voluntary basis. Police and the company are in discussions and we look forward to working with them in the future."

A company spokesman said: "Mitchells & Butlers takes its responsibilities as a retailer of alcohol, and its duty of care to its guests, extremely seriously.

"We are working closely with the police and reviewing the operation at the Pumphouse and RB's with a view to how and when we can re-open.

"The company is currently reviewing its policy on social responsibility, and will highlight our managers' duties to guests and employees and their obligations as licensed retailers."

Apr 12 2004

By Lisa Smith, Evening Mail

A nightclub has been closed until further notice by police after a brawl involving up to 30 Bank Holiday revellers.

Rosie's Pump Room and the adjoining RB's nightclub in Solihull High Street was shut by police on Saturday morning after the fighting spilled out onto the pavement.

Dozens of police were called as doormen struggled to control the fracas, which twice ended up back inside the pub only for more people to get involved.

Five men were arrested but no-one was seriously hurt as police battled to quell the disturbance just after 2am.

The five men have been charged with affray and bailed to appear at Solihull Magistrates Court.

Police licensing laws forced the nightclub to close on Easter Sunday and they had prepared an order to keep it closed until tomorrow.

But pub bosses appealed and agreed with police it would not reopen until a licensing hearing at Solihull Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Police have seized CCTV footage from the pub and are working with the local authority to see if the town's security cameras system has video footage of the brawls.

Apr 2 2004

By Andrew Heath

SOLIHULL is one of the 'least gay' towns in England and Wales with an exceptionally low number of cohabiting same-sex couples living in the borough.

Dr Darren Smith, a geography lecturer from Brighton University, found just 56 of the 48,000 or so couples in the area were gay, placing Solihull 366th of the 375 towns, cities and villages included in his study of gay demographics.

The figures, taken from the 2001 census showed the borough had the lowest proportion - just over 0.1 per cent - of gay couples in the whole of the Midlands, south west, Wales, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Dr Smith said: "Maybe it says something about Solihull itself, it certainly stands alone to some extent.

"Areas that are conservative, in middle England and with a tradition of having male breadwinners and partners who stay at home usually have lower proportions of gay couples."

The Solihull statistics were part of a pattern in the West Midlands which also left Birmingham in the bottom quarter and in sharp contrast to similar sized cities such as Manchester and Bristol.

"There could be an issue that gays and lesbians don't feel comfortable due to the social context in the Midlands, as opposed to that in the south and south east," added Dr Smith.

John Toman, a health promotion specialist for the Terrence Higgins Trust which has run groups for gay people in Solihull said he was not surprised by the research.

"It is not that people in Solihull are homophobic, but there is no infrastructure for gays in the town. "And if people feel that they stand out it can feel very isolating," he said.

"We do joke about places like Solihull and Stratford not having people like us living there, although some of our youth groups have been quite well attended."

Dr Smith stressed the census only provided a rough guide to where lesbians and gays lived as it failed to take into account homosexuals who lived alone, in multiple occupancy accommodation and those who cohabit but failed to formally identify themselves as gay.

Jun 26 2003

By Sarah Probert, Birmingham Post

The family of a Solihull soldier shot dead in Iraq just days before his 21st birthday have paid tribute to their son’s bravery.

Lance Corporal Thomas Keys (pictured), who was born in Knowle, was one of six Royal Military Police officers killed in a gun battle with demonstrators near a police station north of Basra on Tuesday.

It is believed the six were involved in a weapons swoop in the town of Al Majar al-Kabir when the shootings took place.

L/Cpl Keys had been in the country since February and was training Iraqis to police themselves. He would have been 21 on Saturday and his family had arranged a birthday party on his return to Britain in a fortnight.

His first mission in the Army at the age of 18 had been the widely-reported daredevil mission to free six British soldiers from rebel forces in Sierra Leone.

Last night his mother, Sally Keys, told The Birmingham Post: “We’re so proud of everything he had achieved so far. We’re just in shock at the moment.”

She said he phoned home often since being sent to Iraq on February 24 and appeared unhappy at his posting but determined to fulfil his duties.

“He just said he had to be there. He was just doing his job, I don’t think he was particularly happy to be there.

“He was trying to train the Iraqis to police themselves but he felt he was wasting his time. They were always fighting among themselves,” she said.

Mrs Keys, a former ward nurse at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, said her son had been keen to join the Army since leaving Arden Comprehensive School in Solihull at the age of 16.

“He didn’t always want to be in the Army but it just seemed to really suit him. He really enjoyed being in the Military Police.

“He wanted variety, I suppose he wanted to do something different all the time. He didn’t want an office job but just to do a variety of things. He just kept fit and healthy,” she said.

Mrs Keys left Solihull with her husband Reg two years ago to retire to Llanuwchllyn, North Wales, where they are converting a barn overlooking Bala Lake.

L/Cpl Keys joined the cadets in Harrogate at the age of 16. He later joined the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment and seven months later, at the age of 18, found himself among the first wave of attacks on a jungle camp where the rebel group, the West Side Boys, was holding the British troops in Sierra Leone.

On his return, the teenager, who was among 80 soldiers dropped by helicopter near the village of Magbeni, told The Post how the mission had put him in fear of his life.

He said: “Jumping off the helicopter I was scared for my life. Everything goes through your mind, that you could be facing bullets coming your way. You know this is for real.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we got to the camp. But once you’re in there, the training takes over and I just went on automatic.”

He later went on to join the Royal Military Police at the Colchester-based 156 Provost Company, which is attached to 16 Air Assault Brigade.

His brother Richard, aged 18, is also in the Army, serving in the Royal Engineers. He is currently on compassionate leave and was not serving in Iraq. Richard described his brother as football-mad and a fitness fanatic.

“When I was preparing to go into the Army, Thomas would drag me out on fitness runs. He detested anyone smoking – he’d even try to take the cigarette out of their mouths,” he said.

Their father Reg, aged 51, a retired paramedic training officer, described L/Cpl Keys as a “healthy clean living lad”.

“He never brought any trouble to the door. He would help anybody,” he said.

Arrangements for the return of the body and funeral have yet to be announced.

Oct 4 2002

By Peter Kennedy

BOOZERS beware! If you drink alcohol on the streets of Solihull you may be arrested and end up in court.

This is the message from Solihull Council and the police who are cracking down on anti-social behaviour linked to drinking in public places.

Solihull has become only the second town in the West Midlands to introduce alcohol restricted zones under the new Criminal Justice and Police Act.

Signs have been erected in several parts of the borough warning offenders they face fines of up to £500.

Drinking is now banned in Solihull town centre, including Touchwood, and in Brueton Park and Malvern Park.

The other areas where a ban is in force are: Knowle, Dorridge and Bentley Heath; parts of Balsall Common; Langley Hall Park, Olton and the district around the Spitfire pub in Parkfield Drive, Castle Bromwich.

The new orders were approved by the council's general purposes committee, whose chairman, Cllr Richard Lewis, said they were needed to tackle yobbish behaviour at a number of trouble spots.

"It is totally wrong that people going about their normal way of life - shopping, going to work, simply walking along a street --should be intimidated, being shouted at, for instance, by someone who has had too much to drink.

"The police now have the power to confiscate bottles or cans of alcohol and if the offender refuses to hand them over he can be given a £40 on-the-spot fine. If he is arrested he could be fined a maximum of £500.

"We don't want to be killjoys but alcohol is at the root of much anti-social behaviour and we intend to enforce the ban rigorously. It could be extended to other parts of the borough later."

Supt Paul Scarrott, operations manager for Solihull police, said the new legislation provided the opportunity to deal with, at local level, the sort of anti-social behaviour that caused most concern.