A BAR in Rhyl has reassured customers that it is a safe place to visit after a man was jailed following him brandishing a knife and spitting at the premises.

The Cove, on Water Street, has heightened its security measures since the incident in question, which took place during the evening of April 11.

Florin Ursu, 29, of East Parade, Rhyl, was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment at Caernarfon Crown Court yesterday (May 18).

After being ejected from the bar, Ursu returned several hours later with a knife, before spitting directly into the face of Conner Poole, a member of staff.

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‘Disgusting’ Rhyl man brandished knife and spat at member of bar staff

Abbie Nelson, who owns both The Cove and Proactive Security Solutions, which is responsible for the bar’s door staff, said every precaution is now being taken to prevent such an incident re-occurring.

She said: “We’ve started doing body and bag searches, and I’ve bought metal detector wands, as well. The door staff have also been given stab vests to wear, if they want to.

“Since we’ve started these measures, we’ve confiscated another knife.

“They probably should have been in place before this, but everything is in place to keep people safe now. We’re trained for stuff like this.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a regular who’s here every night, you’re still getting searched. Any antisocial behaviour will be reported to Pubwatch, and the people involved will be barred.”

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Abbie was not present at the bar on the night of the incident, but said that support has been given to the staff involved.

Indeed, the court heard yesterday that Mr Poole now wears a stab vest while at work.

She also wants The Cove to be seen as inclusive a place as possible, where “it shouldn’t be a problem” for anyone to come to, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

Abbie added: I’ve seen an incident like that before, when I worked in another venue in Rhyl, but Conner hadn’t. He’s alright now, but we’ve had to give him a lot of support.

“Conner works at The Cove a lot. He’s been affected by it; he had a few days off work.

“We’ve not really seen a drop in business as such. At first, some customers were a bit funny about it, for example if we search them during the week, but the knife incident happened on a Tuesday, so we do it every night we’re open.

“There’s quite a mix here: there are old, young, gay, straight, transgender people… it shouldn’t be a problem for anyone to come here.

“Our ‘Pride Nights’ on Wednesdays are one of the best nights of our week. There’s never any trouble, or discrimination.

“The Bodfor (pub on Bodfor Street) have my door staff as well, and they’re doing exactly the same there, searching everyone who comes in.

“Some people don’t like it, but you just never know when you might need it.”