Death case nightclub bosses in sympathy for family

The owners of a Shropshire nightclub where a father of four was killed by two doormen today expressed their "deepest sympathies" to his family.

Darren Griffiths, 41, of Harmer Hill, was killed by Daryl Brown and Neil Stokes during an incident at the Liquid & Diva nightclub in Shrewsbury.

Brown, 33, of Severn Drive, Wellington, and Stokes, 23, of Spring Gardens, Ditherington, Shrewsbury, were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.

Stokes had admitted a charge of manslaughter, while Brown was found guilty of the same charge after trial.

The men killed the former Shrewsbury Rugby Club player and shopping centre engineer on June 29 last year. Brown was jailed for four-and-a-half years and Stokes for six years.

Peter Turpin, from Luminar, which owns Liquid & Diva, said the company "strongly condemned" the actions of Brown and Stokes.

He said: "A great number of people have been affected by the tragic events of June 29, 2009, culminating in yesterday's sentencing and Luminar would like to express its deepest sympathy to the family of Mr Griffiths.

"Luminar always endeavours to ensure that the staff it uses are trained to the highest level. In the interest of the safety of its customers Luminar outsources the provision of door security, to a specialist provider of these services.

"Luminar strongly condemns the actions of Daryl Brown and Neil Stokes who were supplied to Luminar by such a third party company. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Griffiths."

Mr Griffiths's wife Amanda said she and the rest of her family would suffer a "life of pain" and their lives had been "changed forever" following the death of her husband.

In a statement she said: "Darren suffered 20 minutes of hell, now we suffer a life of pain."

By Andrew Morris