AFTER a Newport nightclub came under fire for launching a controversial Wednesday night promotion with £5 entry and free drinks, Alex Cinus went unannounced to see how the night went.

IT WAS a weeknight, the temperatures had plummeted but hundreds of people were still attracted to Escapade's Bounce event on Wednesday night.

A night out in Newport with clubbers can be lively at the best of times, however some claim the Bounce event, with a £5 entry including free drinks from 10pm-3am would take it to a whole new level.

As I arrived at the Stow Hill venue the doorstaff welcomed me with a thorough body search before I could purchase the “golden” ticket for free drinks throughout the night.

Despite the bad weather, the queue was lengthy, containing local lads up for a night out.

Several girls braved the cold and arrived at the venue scantily clad and small tight shorts seemed to be the fashion choice of the night.

Unexpectedly there to meet clubbers at the entrance was the nightclub’s manager, Steve Dew, who gave a personal talk to each person entering the venue, outlining the rules of the promotion and appealing for common sense from his customers.

“We want you to have a good night but you have to be responsible, we will keep an eye out for anyone that is drinking too much,” he warned.

Clubbers were only served one drink at a time and had to return their glass or bottle to the bar before being given another.

Alcohol was not allowed to be drunk at the bar, meaning staff could control, to a certain extent, extreme binge drinking.

The nightclub was bustling by 11.30pm with around 400 people packing out the club on a traditionally quiet, midweek night.

The DJ announced to the busy dancefloor: “You are the lucky ones, there is a massive queue outside”.

Most of the clubbers were local youngsters from Newport rather than students, but everyone was there to have a good night and the mood was positive.

There was a strange feeling about continually getting a free drink at the bar (anything from spirits, beers to soft drinks) and several other people had the same bewildered yet satisfied smile on their face as myself.

People were ordering beers, vodka and Red Bulls, Bacardi and cokes, and alcopops.

A curious benefit to the promotion saw fewer discarded bottles on floors and tables throughout the nightclub and I found myself defensively clinging on to my drink in the knowledge it was the key to my next beverage.

One girl in particular seemed to be enjoying the experience more than most and I saw her visit the bar at least four times in one hour.

Apart from a scattered few clubbers who were the worse for wear, one of whom was a girl frantically searching for her “lost” shoe which was within inches of her, the night seemed to go smoothly with no sign of any trouble at all.

Binge drinking concerns

WE reported concerns about the event earlier this week.

"We would discourage such promotions as they could be seen to be promoting irresponsible binge drinking," said Inspector Rod Grindlay.

"We will monitor the situation and if there are any associated issues with crime and disorder, if necessary we will take action against individuals or the licensed premises as appropriate."

Nightclub DJ Mike Enea, of St Julians, Newport, wrote to us to question whether such a promotion is responsible given a backdrop of worsening social behaviour and alcohol-related health problems, and fellow letter writer Lucinda Moszcynski, of Newport, called it "dangerous."

But Mr Dew said: "I'm not the first to do an all-inclusive and I definitely won't be the last.

"If this started going sour on a Wednesday night I would pull it.”