A 61-year-old woman has died in hospital and two men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after police were called to reports a ‘disturbance’ at Bar 61 in Blackpool.
Police attended Bar 19 on Queen Street yesterday evening (Sunday 15th October). Detectives say a 61-year-old woman had collapsed and was taken to hospital. However, she sadly died a short time later. Lancashire Constabulary say her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. The woman has been named today as Mary Percival.
Two men, aged 55 and 41 and from Blackpool, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of manslaughter and remain in custody.
A spokesperson for Bar 19 today (Monday 16th October) paid tribute to Mary Percival, ‘Bar19 is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Mary Percival yesterday, and we offer our sincerest condolences to her husband Jim and family in this difficult time. Mary was an incredibly loving and compassionate woman, with a heart of gold that touched the lives of everyone who knew her. Her kindness and generosity were truly remarkable, and she will be missed by all who had the privilege of crossing paths with her. We ask that everyone respects the privacy of Mary’s family during this challenging period of mourning. We kindly request that rumours and speculation be avoided, and that we take this opportunity to reflect on the life of Mary, her selflessness, and the positive impact she had on those around her. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends during this difficult time.’
A Police spokesperson said, ‘We were called at around 5.15pm yesterday (Sunday, October 15th) to reports of a disturbance at Bar 19 on Queen Street, Blackpool. We attended and found a public order incident had occurred inside the premises and immediately afterwards a 61-year-old woman had collapsed. She was taken to hospital; however, she sadly died a short time later. Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.
Our investigation is in the very early stages as we work to establish exactly what took place and how she came about her death. A Home Office post-mortem will be carried out in due course.
Two men, aged 55 and 41 and from Blackpool, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of manslaughter and remain in custody.’
In a statement on Facebook last night, Bar 19 said: “Bar19 would like to unequivocally clarify all rumours and speculations that are circulating on social media platforms. This afternoon, an altercation occurred between three men on our premises, and two of them were immediately ejected.
Meanwhile, a lady inside the premises felt unwell and collapsed. She was promptly resuscitated by a police officer on the scene, and an ambulance was immediately called.
We urge everyone to disregard any other baseless speculations and rumours circulating on social media or elsewhere. We take the safety and well-being of all our patrons seriously and will not tolerate any behaviour that threatens their safety.’
