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Bars train staff to protect vulnerable customers

Clara Bullock & Pam Caulfield
BBC News, Somerset
BBC Allison Herbert is sitting on a chair in front of a bar. She is wearing a blue turtleneck and a dark blazer. She has shoulder-length, grey hair.BBC
Allison Herbert offers training to staff in bars and clubs to help them to protect unsafe customers

Venues are taking part in training to improve the safety of vulnerable people in bars and nightclubs in Bath.

The Bath Business Improvement District (BID) has offered training to local nightclub managers to improve their understanding of the Ask for Angela scheme.

The Ask for Angela scheme allows people being harassed in pubs, clubs and bars to request help from staff by asking for Angela - a fictitious colleague.

John Mason, site director at Labyrinth Nightclub in Bath, said: "I've seen issues where people have been on dates and they were not comfortable."

John Mason is standing by a bar in a blue shirt. He has curly, ginger hair and is wearing glasses.
Mr Mason said he has seen people who wanted to leave the club discreetly

During a recent BBC investigation in London, half of the venues tested failed to respond when researchers asked for Angela.

Following the research, BID offered training to 46 businesses in Bath.

Allison Herbert, Chief Executive at BID, said: "There's no point having this scheme if not everybody understands this scheme.

"Businesses will be encouraged to take this back to their own teams."

Venues are encouraged to put up posters to make customers aware they can ask for Angela – for a number of different reasons.

When the national initiative started eight years ago, it was mainly aimed at women but it is now also used by men feeling under pressure to drink too much.

Eren Bessim is standing in a dark venue. He is wearing a black fleece and has short, grey hair. He is smiling.
Eren Bessim said sharing information about offenders between venues is important

The training also includes ways to spot predatory behaviour and drink spiking.

Eren Bessim, at Safer Business Network Training, said: "We could start getting a pattern of offenders because we have the times and locations and we are sharing that information with each other.

"Police will need that to catch these offenders."

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