Norwich Carnage passes without incident

SARAH HALL, SAM EMANUEL
10 November 2009 09:50

Carnage UK 2009 in Norwich.

A controversial pub crawl saw hundreds of students descending on the city last night, but the event appeared to pass without major incident.

Carnage UK hit the headlines last month after a youngster was caught urinating over a war memorial following one of the organised events in Sheffield.

Students in Norwich were clearly “up for a good time” as they converged at top city nightspots including Orgasmic, Prince of Wales pub, Chicago's Rock Cafe, Mojo's and Essence before finishing the celebrations at Mercy nightclub on Prince of Wales Road.

But, unlike in some other cities, the event in Norwich was good-natured, with the young revellers in high spirits, attracting a predictable amount of attention in the bars and clubs and also in Prince of Wales Road, where there was lively but friendly banter between the students and passers-by.

The theme was doctors and nurses with many sporting red crosses and nurses hats and each one wore a t-shirt emblazoned with University of East Anglia logos and captions such as “naughty nurse check up”, “mouth to mouth aid” and “doctor/nurse consultation”.

Controversy over the Carnage nights saw a string of university unions elsewhere in the country raise concerns about the behaviour of students.

Last night doormen outside Orgasmic, Essence, Mojo's and Mercy nightclub refused entry to two Evening News reporters and one of the many Carnage UK stewards who were helping doormen herd students into the venues said they were “not allowed” to talk to the media.

Carnage UK 2009 in Norwich

Many students said they did not know what the fuss was about and said they regarded the night as a “normal pub crawl” but with fancy dress.

A policeman on patrol on Prince of Wales Road at about midnight said it had been “a very quiet night”. He said: “There has been no trouble, 99.9pc of students are just here to have a good time.”

It is understood the Carnage organisers made a contribution to the policing costs.

Kayla Grivoas , 19, is studying film and creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She said: “It is just a bit of fun. It's my first Carnage and it seems harmless so far.

“There are quite a lot of fancy dress nights for students and this is just one of them. I don't really know what the fuss is all about.”

Keira Smith, a 20-year-old philosophy student, said: “This is the second time I have been to Carnage in Norwich and it is just a real laugh. We let our hair down, maybe sing a bit and have a good dance. Like any night out there are people who are more drunk than others but it isn't that bad, it is just fun.”

Elsewhere in the country, however, the pub crawl has caused concern, particularly after Philip Laing, a 19-year-old student from Sheffield, was caught on camera relieving himself over tributes left to the fallen on the First World War memorial and curling up and falling asleep in front of a shop window while taking part in a Carnage event.

The National Union of Students has launched a campaign to prevent Carnage UK holding any further events and outraged unions at 17 universities have banned the party promoters and five others are set to follow after the “degrading” binges came under fire from MPs, police and councils.

Varsity Leisure Group, which owns Carnage, denied it encouraged irresponsible drinking and said it considered what happened in Sheffield as an “isolated incident”.

Last year the Carnage pub crawl also went fairly smoothly with no arrests.

What do you think of the Carnage nights? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE or email eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk

See tomorrow's Evening News for an in-depth look at the events of Carnage in Norwich.

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