Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Belfry stabbing: Six people stabbed in new year celebrations in Bel Air nightclub at golf resort

 

Paul Peachey
Thursday 01 January 2015 21:12 GMT

Six people were stabbed at the Belfry golf resort after new year celebrations turned violent.

A 21-year-old man was stabbed in the chest in the Bel Air Nightclub at the Sutton Coldfield golfing centre – the four-time host of the Ryder Cup – during what was billed as the “ultimate end-of-year party”.

Five other people were injured after police were dealing with the initial stabbing at the “Nude Years Eve Masquerade Ball”.

One of them was critically ill in hospital, according to Warwickshire police, while four others were released after treatment. Three men, aged 20, 22 and 26, have been arrested.

The party, which started with a champagne reception, was limited to 1,000 ticketholders with coaches bringing people from Birmingham and Manchester, according to publicity for the event.

Superintendent Adrian McGee, of Warwickshire Police, said: “This is the early stages of the investigation and at this time officers are still in the process of piecing together what has happened.

“The management at the Belfry are assisting in bringing an understanding to the events of last night.”

Meanwhile, a man was killed in a knife and axe attack during a mass brawl in a Devon pub in the early hours of New Year’s Day. The 27-year-old died from his injuries and at least three others suffered stab injuries when the fight between two rival groups spilled out from The Kings Arms in Tamerton Foliot, Plymouth.

The alleged attackers were understood to have been in the pub for some time before the dispute started and swiftly escalated into a brawl. Police have taken CCTV footage from the pub to try to understand what triggered the fight and how it played out.

Detectives have arrested two men from Plymouth, aged 20 and 21, on suspicion of murder. They were likely to be “crucial” to understanding what had happened, said the officer in charge of the inquiry.

Police said they had recovered an axe-type weapon but were still searching for at least one other weapon. They asked people to look out for anything discarded in bins or thrown into their gardens.

Detective Superintendent Jim Colwell said that police had a “pretty good idea” of what had happened and could not rule out further arrests. He said that not everyone who was in the pub at the time had come forward to speak to police.

He said: “We are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or who was in the Tamerton Foliot area between 1am and 2am yesterday morning to contact the police.

“We have established a cordon at Station Road to assist with scene investigation and our officers will be active in the area throughout the day conducting enquiries. Please speak to us, call us on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously if you have any information that could help us.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in