Parents of tragic student Olivia Burt pay tribute to their 'beautiful daughter' as police renew witness appeal

Olivia Burt's parents have described her as 'a wonderful young woman'.

Olivia Burt, from Hampshire, suffered fatal head injuries in an incident outside Missoula nightclub on Wednesday, February 7.

Despite the best efforts of door staff, the ambulance service and police to revive her, the 20-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The scene of the tragedy outside Missoula nightclub in Durham. Pic: PA.

Today, Olivia’s parents released a statement paying tribute to their daughter, who was in her first year at Durham University, studying natural sciences.

They said: “We are totally devastated and heartbroken by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Olivia.

“She was a wonderful young woman and our words cannot truly express how much we miss her.

“We request that we be allowed to grieve in private and will not be releasing any further statements”.

Olivia Burt was a keen sailor, who had represented Great Britain at the sport.

A joint investigation into the circumstances surrounding Olivia’s death has been launched by Durham Constabulary and Durham County Council.

The incident happened during a popular student night at the Walkergate venue, and several hundred people are thought to have been queuing outside the premises at the time.

Over the last few days, police have spoken to a large number of people who were in the area, but are now appealing for those who were nearest to Olivia at the time of the tragedy to come forward.

Detective Inspector Andy Smith, of Durham Constabulary’s Major Crime Team, said: “This was a tragic incident and the whole focus of our investigation at this time is to find out exactly what happened to Olivia.

“We have now spoken to a large number of people who were there on the night, both those working in the area and those who were queueing to get into the nightclub.

“Officers have also examined CCTV footage from the scene, showing the moments leading up to the incident.

“We appreciate there were potentially several hundred people outside the premises, but we are appealing for witnesses to come forward from among those who were closest to Olivia at the time of the incident and saw what took place”.

Any witnesses who were close to the incident at the time are asked to ring Durham Police on 101.