A Perth hotel which hosted an “out-of-control” school prom has avoided having its alcohol licence suspended after lodging an 11th hour appeal against the decision.
Owners of the Station Hotel have defended the actions of their staff in the aftermath of the unofficial Kinross High School Teen Ball on January 25.
Many of the 250 16 and 17-year-olds were found to be heavily under the influence of alcohol at the ball.
One boy was slumped unconscious at the bar, having vomited upon himself several times, while another pupil was said to be “turning blue” in a hotel corridor.
It took 12 police officers more than an hour to disperse the youngsters from the hotel after the event, which was described as an “out-of-control mess” by a senior officer.
Hotel staff closed the event when it became clear that many of the pupils had brought their own drink into the premises.
When police arrived, they found pupils “staggering”, with many youngsters filling glasses from bottles of spirits that had been concealed in handbags.
Perth and Kinross Council’s LicensingBoard heard from the hotel’s solicitor, Paul Trodden, who admitted there were “management failings” on the night of the teen ball.
A spokesperson for Supportico Ltd, the owners of the hotel, said: “As soon as it became clear that many of the teenagers had come pre-loaded ie heavily intoxicated before arriving at the event and had brought their own drink on the premises, the director of the company, who was present, decided to close the event immediately.
“The hotel has behaved responsiblyand fairly in the very challenging circumstances of the night. As a result, the hotel has decided to not hold any more such teenage events.”
He continued: “The company believes that the actions of the council are disproportionate on the basis of an isolated incident in the last five years of the current ownership of the hotel.”
He added: “The appeal has been lodged already. Thus the suspension, which was due to come into effect on Tuesday, did not take place. We await further information from the relevant bodies and dates of the appeal.”