Robin Clapham was attending the Regression Sessions event at Canal Mills when performers on stage spat what he assumes to be paraffin into his eye, forcing him to seek treatment at A&E.

Clapham, a fourth year Economics and French student, was near the front of the crowd at the stage in the main room, where two women and a dwarf were performing with an axe-grinder and flaming batons.

The entertainers started spitting paraffin through the fire to create the effect of flame shooting over the crowd, and Mr Clapham felt some of the fuel hit him in the face.

He promptly rinsed his eyes out in the toilet, and consulted the medical staff on site who treated him with a first aid eye wash kit, but recommended he visit A&E as a precaution.

He and another girl who also complained of a stinging sensation in her eyes took a taxi to the nearest hospital, and due to the strong smell of paraffin coming from the students, the taxi driver almost stopped the vehicle believing it to be leaking fuel.

At the hospital the pair were advised to rinse their eyes with a weak saline solution for ten minutes, and Mr Clapham reports no problems with his vision to this day.

Speaking to The Gryphon, Mr Clapham stated “We can’t have been the only people that this happened too, given that it was a packed night and the venue holds a lot of people.

I am genuinely surprised that no one at Canal Mills or Regression Sessions thought that fire spitting over a crowd was a bad idea.”

I probably would go to a future Regression Sessions night, but I won’t take my chances near the front.”

Speaking to The Gryphon, Canal Mills said, “We are currently investigating the matter along with the venue and the performers who were involved.”

 

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Jessica Murray