Cornwall bouncer suspended after 'commenting on teenager's breasts and leering at her'

A bouncer accused of sexually harassing a woman at a nightclub has been suspended after she spoke out about the alleged incident on Twitter.

Emily White, 19, said a doorman at the Sailors Arms in Newquay in Cornwall leered at her and commented on her breasts while she was on a night out last month.

After threatening to report him, the teenager said she was told: "They won’t do anything love”.

Ms White, from St Austell, Cornwall, said while his harassment started with a wolf-whistle, it quickly started feeling more intimidating as he ogled her and made comments about her breasts.

Addressing the alleged ordeal in a tweet which has been shared over 8,000 times and liked by over 93,000 users, she said: "He told me: 'I'm a bouncer I can do what I want'."

“Was sexually harassed by a bouncer in a nightclub this weekend,” she tweeted on 24 July.

“So I snapped a photo of his ID, emailed the club, who have emailed his agency, who have begun an official displinary [sic] investigation. He told me, ‘I’m a bouncer I can do what I want”. No mate, no you can’t.’”

In response to her threatening to complain, Ms White said the bouncer "moved his arm out so I could take a picture of his ID".

"That's how cocky he was. He thought no-one would challenge him on it. He was wrong,” she told the BBC.

Ms White said she had been inundated with messages of support since sharing her experience.

She said: "It's not the worst thing that's happened to a girl. It's not even the worst thing that's happened to me”.

"But I was able to report it and so I did. If the same thing has happened to anyone else, I would urge them to do the same."

The pub said it took "immediate action" after getting the complaint and an investigation was taking place.

"Upon hearing of these allegations, an immediate investigation was launched in collaboration with the agency which employs our door staff,” a spokesperson for the Sailors Arms said.

"Until it is complete, the individual in question will not be employed at our door."

Regency Security, the company which provides door staff to the venue, declined to comment.

Ms White told Devon Live she asked him to “do one” after he wolf-whistled at her outside the nightclub's toilets.

“Then he started making sexual comments about my appearance and derogatory comments about my chest, so I had a go at him and told him this wasn’t okay,” she said.

“He was surrounded by a group of men who weren’t bouncers but I guess his mates, and he was continuing the altercation to make them laugh and make a joke out of me, which was the most intimidating thing.”

Ms White’s widely shared tweet has garnered hundreds of messages of support – with people heaping praise on her for speaking out about the alleged incident.

“Really admire you for bringing this to everyone’s attention. No one should have to be a victim of such disgusting behaviour. Well done for standing up to it,” said one.

“Fantastic that you took action. Zero tolerance of such behaviour is the best way to change things. Thank you for stepping up!” added another.

“I hope your example shows other girls that it's ok to stick up for yourself against the door staff (or anyone else, for that matter) that make you feel uncomfortable. Good on you!” chipped in one more.

One user, who is currently employed as a bouncer, said: “I have never had to lay hands on someone, unless had to escort someone out … At the end of the night, I want to make sure you get home safe, along with myself.”