STOURBRIDGE nightspot Chicago's has closed with immediate effect - with bosses blaming the "campaign against the club" that followed the tragic death of footballer Ryan Passey for its demise.

The Deltic Group, operators of the Ryemarket bar, confirmed its decision this morning (Tuesday) after informing all 18 full and part time staff members yesterday.

The closure comes just weeks after the bar was targeted by vandals following the trial of Kobe Murray, the Dudley teenager accused of murdering Mr Passey, who walked free from court - having been cleared by a jury of any wrong-doing despite his own admissions in court that he hit out with a knife in the club.

Deltic’s chief executive, Peter Marks, said: “It is a sad indictment of our society when we look to blame anyone apart from the person who brandished the knife.

"We are not the heartless business we have been portrayed to be.

“Everyone who worked at Chicago’s and for the wider company, remain devastated by Ryan’s untimely death, as well as by the shocking outcome of the recent court case, which saw the accused walk free.

"We cannot comprehend the impact these events have had on Mr Passey’s family and friends."

Grieving relatives and friends of Mr Passey, who died from a single stab wound to the chest sustained during an altercation at the club on August 6 2017, have strongly criticised Chicago's for failing to carry out adequate searches on the night of the tragedy.

The footballer's devastated dad Adrian Passey told the News today: "If the search policy would have been followed I think Ryan would have been here, I really do."

Deltic's Mr Marks, however, said Chicago's had "never had a chance to defend itself due to the legal case and was consistently misrepresented by many" and he added: "Until that tragic night, the club had an unblemished licensing record of providing a fun and safe night out for the people in Stourbridge.

“As a responsible operator running a business in a generally safe town, at no point did we break any laws, or breach our licence conditions set by the police and local authority, which required us to search a proportion of our customers entering the premises, which we did on the night in question.

“Putting the blame on a single venue is not the answer. The only people to blame for Mr Passey’s tragic death is the person that carried the knife and the person that used it to cut short a young life full of such promise.

“Society has a growing problem with knife crime and the lives it takes and ruins.

"It is hard to comprehend why anyone would want to carry a knife on a night out, when such actions can have such devastating outcomes.

“The jury’s decision is hard to digest and the message it sends out to young people is quite simply frightening: that carrying a knife is not only acceptable, but you can take someone’s life and walk free.

“There are no easy solutions; it is for everyone to work together to make our towns safer. As a wider community, we need to educate young people on the dangers of carrying knives. We also need to make sure that there is a clear deterrent.

"The truth is that, for every knife we confiscate, the police very rarely make an arrest. Attitudes and the law need to change, so that carrying a knife is not only socially unacceptable but there are serious consequences for possession.

“Making a difference would be a positive legacy in the wake of such tragedy.

“There is no doubt that our decision to close will have an impact on the wider health of the local late-night economy, which of late has been a lot quieter.

"Whilst some may view the night time economy as a nuisance, in our experience, a town needs a balanced economy with investment in both the traditional daytime activities and those night time offers that give a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.

"The closure of an anchor business, such as Chicago’s, rarely benefits the town in the long term, quite the reverse.

“We are very sad to be leaving Stourbridge and would like to take this opportunity to thank our hard-working team and our loyal customers for their support over the years.”