Celeb Nightclub Fined For vercrowding
When council safety officers inspected Boujis in South Kensington, west London, they found 185 people packed into the basement of the club, more than 50 per cent above its official maximum capacity of 120.
Other celebs including Mickey Rourke, Shane Warne and singer Usher have all been known to grace the dance floor of the exclusive party den alongside loaded young Londoners, earning it a reputation as a playground for the rich and famous.
However Kensington and Chelsea council chiefs said the flagrant flaunting of the regulations would put lives at risk in the event of a fire.
The club hit the headlines when a gnarled looking Rourke 'broke the rules' and pinched stunning 20-year-old Ukrainian model Anna Ilnitskaya from under her boyfriend's nose there.
R'n'B star Usher reputedly recruited volunteers at Boujis for an orgy he had back at his London hotel suite.
The club is also popular with Princes Harry and William and their pals.
But when council officers did a spot check at the club last March they found 185 people packed in the basement - 65 more than their maximum allowed capacity of 120.
Boujis pleaded guilty to breaking the terms of its licence. West London Magistrates fined the club £5,000 and ordered it to share the Council?s legal costs of £2,145 with Jake Parkinson-Smith who was the club's duty manager at the time.
Mr Parkinson-Smith also pleaded guilty to knowingly allowing the licence to be broken. He was fined £2,000.
A spokeswoman for Kensington and Chelsea Council said: "They've admitted to having broken the rules and these rules are vital for proper health and safety. If a club is overcrowded then people cannot escape a fire and it can be lethal."
Councillor Fiona Buxton added: "The message to entertainment premises is simple: follow the public entertainment regulations at all times. If you don?t, the Council will take you to court and may even close you down."
Matthew Hermer, a director of the Ignite Group which own Boujis, appeared before West London Magistrates Court last week to plead guilty to having 185 people in the basement area of the club. This was a breach of a condition of its public entertainment licence, which states that the maximum number of people in the basement must not exceed 120.
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