Plymouth student injured in 'crush' during S Club gig at Oceana

A STUDENT claims she was injured as hundreds of people were involved in a "crush" during a gig at a city nightclub.

Giselle Kerr, aged 19, attended the concert by re-formed pop group S Club at Oceana on Monday night.

First year Plymouth University theatre and performance student Giselle (pictured at the gig) said the venue was packed and the crowd rushed forward as the group began their set at about 1.30am.

Oceana said the venue was well within its capacity and that it exceeded its legal obligations preparing for the event.

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Giselle said: "I felt it was overcrowded. My friend was having a panic attack and we had gone over to the sofas because we wanted to be in a safe space. It was ten seconds into their second song, somebody must have fallen by the stage or started a mosh pit because everyone fell like dominoes.

"A bouncer came up and grabbed my arm and said 'Get down off the sofas' or something. Everyone fell to the floor on top of each other.

"I had about seven, eight or nine people on top of me and I hurt my hip and hit my head on the sofa."

Giselle said she was still in pain when she woke up yesterday morning, and took the day off from university.

"I was really disgusted," she added. "It was so bad that the three members of S-Club said 'Calm down guys, just be cool about it'. But it was a nightmare, nobody helped anybody up. They had to stop the song.

"I left, I didn't really want to get into any more trouble."

Fellow audience member Jodie Watts posted on Twitter: "Never seen it so packed I was crushed."

Oceana manager Leanne Goddard said 1,800 came through the doors – below the 2,400 capacity.

"Oceana is a well run, professionally managed nightclub that is used to staging acts," she said "We adhere to very strict health and safety measures and prepared for the S Club evening by increasing the number of security, so that we exceeded our legal obligations.

"We were aware of one customer briefly fainting at the front of the stage. She was immediately taken to one side and given treatment of first aid and water and once she recovered we arranged for her to meet the band members in the VIP area.

"We were not made aware of any further injuries or incidents and overall feedback has been extremely positive."