BOSSES at the Welly nightclub in Beverley Road were left stunned after hundreds of people began queuing outside the popular venue.
Police were on hand to control the crowds after almost 1,000 revellers arrived at the same time to the indie music event Jelly At Welly on Thursday night.
Organisers said they had never seen so many people turn up to celebrate the start of the Easter bank holiday weekend and were glad they were well-behaved.
Promoter Howard Nicklas said: "There was no trouble but the venue only holds about 900 people and we couldn't get everyone in.
"We'd never seen anything like it, it was so busy."
The Welly nightclub celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and organisers of Jelly were pleased to see so many young people turn out to support the venue.
After police passed the club and spotted the crowds, they approached bosses and began to count people in as they stood outside, helping to keep things under control.
Mr Nicklas said: "We send our apologies to those who couldn't get in. The venue was operating at capacity.
"We love our customers and letting more people in would have made it a safety risk.
"I don't think when it opened, they would have expected queues this big 100 years on.
"We've tried to create a different experience to everywhere else and we are glad that people like it."
A passer-by said: "I was on my way home from boxing at about 11.15pm and saw a lot of police lights flashing down Beverley Road.
"On closer inspection, I noticed five police vans outside the Welly nightclub and hundreds of young people stood around outside.
"Many of them were queuing to get in and when I asked them what was going on they said it was due to over-crowding."
Revellers took to Twitter to vent their frustrations after waiting in the cold.
One user posted: "The queue for Welly was ridiculous. Pretty much everyone in Hull was attempting to get in last night."
Another party-goer said the queue seemed to be a "mile long", while others waited for 45 minutes before having to be turned away due to overcrowding.
One motorist tweeted: "Just drove past Welly. It's safe to say 90 per cent of Hull's population is there tonight."
A spokesman for Humberside Police said there were no arrests, but would not comment further on their involvement.
There are more events organised at Welly over the Easter bank holiday weekend, including Dig! tonight, Shuffle on Saturday and the return of two legendary club nights on Sunday to celebrate the venue's landmark birthday.
During the past 100 years, it has survived police raids, condemned electrics, the odd fire and a succession of different owners to stand the test of time.
Mr Nicklas said: "We open our doors at 10.30pm for the bank holiday events but I would suggest people arrive earlier than that to avoid the queue."
