Murder charge after death of Notts man Nikki Robinson outside Spanish nightclub

A man has been charged with murder in connection to the death of a young Hucknall man who was stabbed outside a Spanish nightclub. Nikki Craig Robinson died aged only 30 after suffering a stab wound to the chest outside the Oxygen nightclub in Calella, an area 30 miles away from Barcelona.

The incident occurred on June 21 while Nikki was in the Iberian country with work. The court was told that he arrived there on June 15 and was due to return to the UK on June 25.

He was working as a carpenter for Red Bull to construct VIP paddocks for Formula One. An inquest into Nikki's death, which concluded on Monday, November 18, at Nottingham Council House, heard that a post-mortem revealed Nikki suffered no other significant injuries to the body or defensive-type injuries.

Coroner Mairin Casey explained that the Spanish authorities have been "reticent" in sharing information with theiir English counterparts, "but that is not surprising". Ms Casey added that, despite this, she had sufficient information to conclude the inquest.

She added: "I am hopeful that this will all be explored fully within the criminal trial in Spain." A trial is now due to start in Spain after a man, whose identity has not been revealed by the Spanish authorities, was charged with murder in connection to the case.

He is now on remand awaiting trial and Nikki's family have hired a Spanish lawyer to represent them during the proceedings. The coroner's court was told on Monday that Nikki and his colleagues were given some money by their boss to go out and enjoy themselves after finishing building the paddocks, which they needed to take down after the event, leaving them with a couple of days to explore Spain.

The group went to a restaurant that night and a member of staff at the venue has been described as "quite difficult" when interacting with the group. The group then watched an England match that was on that night and headed to the Oxygen nightclub.

The hearing was told there was "some trouble" inside the nightclub, involving another group of men and bouncers came over and started ejecting people "quite forcefully" from the premises. Nikki and his friends were ushered out of the club by the bouncers through the back doors and then brought to the front, where Nikki was stabbed.

It is understood one of Nikki's colleagues also sustained some injuries. Nikki's mother, Deborah Robinson, told the inquest she has received very basic information about her son's death from the Spanish police, but great support from the British authorities.

She said: "I think they didn't even want me to see Nikki following his death, but I needed to know it was my own Nikki. It's been five months but I don't know how we've got here. It feels like it happened yesterday.

"I have to get justice for him, otherwise it will have been for nothing. I have to stay as strong as I can because there's nothing else I can do for him."

The mother-of-three was in Spain for 20 days after Nikki's tragic death, as she "wouldn't go home without him". Paying tribute to her son during the inquest, she said: "My son, Nikki Craig Robinson, was 30 years old when he was cruelly taken from us in Spain on June 21, 2024

"He was loved by all his family and his first love was his dog, Bulla. He would take Bulla everywhere, whether it'd be shopping, eating out or on dates.

"He would take her wherever he could. He loved to travel and it opened his eyes to a whole different world. He travelled to a lot of countries with his job and was a much-praised employee.

"He was so excited about his future. He will be loved and missed by many. He will be remembered for his beautiful smile, great sense of humour and his tattoos. We all love you, Nikki."

Gemma Robinson, one of Nikki's sisters, added that five of Nikki's childhood friends, who were with him at the time of the incident, have also been severely impacted by their friend's death and have been supporting the family. She said: "They have all struggled because it could have been any one of them.

"They say 'we wish it was us, not Nikki'. This shouldn't have happened. They're good lads who have good jobs." A date for the trial in Spain has not yet been set.