THE boss of a pub in North Road, Durham, is appealing against a decision to take away his licence after allegedly ignoring complaints from police and residents.

Police say they applied to have the Lacuna Lounge's licence revoked as a last resort after receiving complaints about an increase in noise and rowdy behaviour since the bar opened several months ago.

Magistrates withdrew the bar's drinks licence at Peterlee Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. But licensee, Patrick Collins denies the allegations and has appealed against the decision.

Until the appeal decision is reached, the Lacuna can continue serving alcohol.

Chief Inspector Laz Szomoru, of Durham Police, said he had been very unhappy about a number of issues since the pub opened.

He said: "The relationship between most licensed premises and police in the Durham area is exceptionally good. But at this particular one we were disappointed over a period of time."

Police said they were applying to revoke Mr Collins' licence because he had repeatedly failed to take action to reduce the volume of music, despite repeated advice to do so. Police also said he was offensive and intimidating to residents when they complained.

The notice also stated that he ignored advice from police about allowing dancing on the premises without an entertainment licence, and sold alcohol at "greatly reduced" prices, encouraging people to drink large amounts.

But Mr Collins refuted the claims. He said: "We are appealing against the decision. They say we are playing the music too loud and there's dancing. We're saying that we're not.

"It's going to be about six to eight months before the appeal is heard, so it's business as usual until then."

North Road attracts hundreds of revellers at the weekend to its bars and two nightclubs and is renowned for drunken disorder.

Regent Inns, which will soon open a £2m Australian theme bar, the Walkabout, in North Road, has pledged to help tackle the problems of anti-social behaviour by spending £49,000 on two urinals. It also said it would fund a late-night bus service for a trial period, contribute to the cost of policing and install free phone links with a taxi firm.