AS a nightclub door supervisor, learning the theory of what you are supposed to do is all very well but what happens when you need to put it into practice? Jenny Makin finds out about a new course that puts door staff through their paces..

IT'S just turned 11.30pm on a Saturday night in one of Southampton's busiest nightclubs.

A group of 16 slightly worse for wear men are on a stag night, clearly enjoying themselves but obviously having consumed a lot of drink.

There's tension in the air after football banter between some members of the group and a couple of men who are ordering drinks at the bar.

The build-up is being watched from a distance by two eager-eyed door supervisors whose job it is to keep everybody safe in the nightspot - the bar staff as well as the 250 other customers packed into the venue that night.

Minutes later trouble spills over.

One of the stag party has lunged at the man drinking a pint at the bar, shouting and swearing and trying to wrestle with him. He has a glass bottle of half drank beer in his hand.

The door staff immediately leap into action and race to deal with what has now escalated into a fight. They try to separate the men, grabbing forcefully at swinging arms and legs, trying to pull them away from each other. Punches are being thrown, kicks are being landed and people are getting injured.

The two door workers are on autopilot, making decisions about how to handle the situation unfolding before them in an instant.

They are trying to recall just what they were taught on a four-day training scheme run by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) that they had to undertake to get their licenses.

But that was classroom-based - listening, writing down and undertaking a written exam.

They had no hands-on experience in physical intervention - and they haven't been taught any basic first aid.

When the situation is over there's potential that either one, or both of the men involved, will claim to have been assaulted - by each other or even by the door staff themselves.

It's a situation door workers potentially face every weekend and could lead them down a slippery road that could ultimately end in prison.

Now a company in Eastleigh is recognising what they say are flaws in the SIA training system - and are putting scores of door staff through their paces with advanced hands-on training.

Risks Contained has been operating since 2003 and is run by Steve Allen and Marty Farrow.

Having worked in the Forces together, the pair have spent most of their working lives in the security field and are putting all their experience and knowledge into this venture.

Marty, 48, a former Hampshire Constabulary personal safety officer of ten years, said: "The training offered by the SIA is good in as much as it's raising standards to a certain level but it's also falling short of what door supervisor need to know. There is no physical or first aid training whatsoever and this is essential when you are talking about public safety as these people are the first point of contact with members of the public. That is where Risks Contained is filling the gap.

"Door supervisors are there to enforce the Licensing Act. They will be required to eject people from the property and it is highly possible they will have some sort of physical involvement.

"There should be better training in basic life support so that door staff know what to do if someone has been injured or taken ill.

"There should also be training in physical intervention where door staff are taught to use safe and effective manoeuvres to restrain and eject violent people. Surely this must be beneficial, having people in that type of environment who are trained to cope?"

One company quick to take up the advanced training is Knight Security, an Eastleigh based firm that employs more than 50 door supervisors who work at venues including The Brook and Talking Heads in Portswood, The Old Fat Cat pub in High Street and Earth nightclub in Eastleigh.

Approximately once every two months the staff - men and women - will attend a training session in which they are taught how to deal with someone who is causing a problem and how to safely restrain them without injury.

Law refreshers and information on topics like just what is reasonable and necessary force in a violent situation are included.

They are also taught what Steve and Marty believe to be the most important tool in dealing with any confrontation - conversation.

Simon Barnes, 36, managing director of Knight Security, praised the scheme.

"These young people are going in blind. The training that the SIA offers is not enough. It falls short because the door supervisors do not get hands-on experience.

"It takes you to a level of what to do if someone is shouting at you but not what to do if a situation turns violent. Risks Contained is offering the next level and I feel it is imperative for my staff to know and feel confident in what they do and be assured what action they take is safe within the law."

Steve, 35, said there was a gap in the market which led to the business being formed.

"I was being inundated by requests from various security companies to provide this type of training, for people in the event industry. What Marty and I both specialise in complements each other well," he said.

"Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, regulations state that employers must train staff to deal with foreseeable risks.

"Surely part of that risk, as a door supervisor or in security, sometimes you will have to intervene physically.

"Having found the niche in the market for Risks Contained and from the massive amount of people we have given this training to, the feedback has been very positive because it is specific for their industry."

A spokesman for the SIA agreed that further training for door supervisors was a good idea.

She said: "What we are trying to achieve is a national standard, bringing everyone in this profession to the same level of competency.

"If someone is going to be become a door supervisor then they are fully aware of the risks and go into it with their eyes open. Dealing with the physical side of it is on the job training and the responsibility of the employer."

RISKS Contained physical intervention training is getting good feedback from door supervisors themselves.

Ian Holloway, 34, has been working on the doors of venues in Southampton for the past 16 years and believed there was nothing he didn't know when it comes to dealing with situations when he was first asked to attend a training session.

"I didn't think I would have anything to learn but I have now learned a great deal. I don't know of any other environment where you are putting yourself as risk quite like this.

"The SIA training is not enough. New door staff are not being taught the crafts and skills they need. There is no conflict management, no physical training. It's like taking on apprentices but without the tools they need.

"Thanks to the training with Marty and Steve I can deal with things more professionally and with a much higher degree of confidence."

Ian currently works at The Old Fat Cat in High Street, Southampton, with fellow employee Ben Weldon, 24.

The pair were forced to put what they had learned into action recently when they were confronted with a man, intoxicated and possibly on drugs, who pulled a knife.

"We could see the state he was in and refused him entry. It was then that he pulled the knife out at us. But thanks to the extra training we received we were confident in what we were doing, able to talk him down and calm the situation until the police arrived," said Ben.

"What we are being taught makes it safer for everybody."