La Salsa lap dancing club could be stripped of licence to thrill

Feb 9 2010 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Now the council’s licensing panel has agreed to police requests to suspend all licensable activities – including alcohol sales and lap dancing – at the club until an urgent review of the situation can take place.

Pc Richard Woodhead, a licensing enforcement officer, revealed there had been allegations of under-age dancers being employed at the club for three years. And he said the police would ultimately be calling for the bar’s licence to be scrapped completely.

He said: “We feel that, with the breaches they have had, and the previous allegations about under-age dancers back in 2007, revocation of the licence is the best way forward to ensure no more exploitation of vulnerable individuals.”

Notices have been put up on the club to say that an expedited review of the licence will be held within 28 days because of concerns about serious crime and disorder.

A spokesman for La Salsa insisted the dancers had to sign an agreement to abide by the rules and any who broke the contract were sacked.

“We try to explain what they should and shouldn’t be doing and make it clear to customers what they shouldn’t do as well,” he said.

“If any of these people have done something without our knowledge, we can’t be responsible for that. We have done our best to warn both sides.”

He claimed the under-age girl had just started working for the club and she insisted she had papers proving she was over 18.