Bouncers cleared over death of aspiring pilot outside Vauxhall nightclub

Died: Adam Hird
Hannah Al-Othman5 February 2016
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Three bouncers accused of killing a man by pinning him down in an "extremely dangerous" restraint outside a Vauxhall nightclub have been cleared of manslaughter.

Aspiring pilot Adam Hird, from Epping, passed out as the doormen held him down for around six minutes after he was refused entry to No 65 club in the early hours of Sunday June 15 2014.

Paramedics battled to save 30-year-old Mr Hird, who was taken to hospital, where he later died from asphyxiation.

The three doormen Mark Pantallaresco, 51, Lewis Thorne, 22, and Sebastiano Ragusa, 31, were all acquitted of manslaughter by gross negligence after a trial at the Old Bailey.

Club: Adam Hird, 30, was left unconscious (Picture: Nigel Howard)

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC told the jurors: "Ragusa held his legs whilst Thorne and Pantallaresco held Hird's body and head respectively.

"A number of those who witnessed what was going on saw that Hird had stopped struggling and told Thorne, Pantallaresco and Ragusa this. They eventually realised that Hird was unconscious and released him."

Mr Hird had battled with depression for some time and, on the night he died, he had been at a social event for fellow sufferers at the nearby Riverside restaurant.

Thorne, of Meads Way, Brentwood, Essex; Ragusa, of Lewisham, south London; and Pantallaresco, of Tadworth, Surrey, all denied the charges against them.

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