Police say Why Not bar, in Melton Road, Leicester, should shut

Police have called for a bar to lose its licence because of its long record of trouble.

Why Not, in Melton Road, Leicester, has been the scene of drunken fights and abusive and anti-social behaviour for more than two years, officers said.

The city police licensing team will put their concerns about the bar to a hearing on Thursday and will recommend that its licence should be revoked.

The councillors who sit on the licensing panel will be told police regard the bar as a drain on resources because of the number of times they have been called there to deal with violent incidents.

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A report submitted to the licensing panel by the police ahead of the meeting cited examples of trouble including people fighting inside and outside the venue.

Members of the public have complained of being abused by the bar's customers, while acts of vandalism and littering in the area have also been linked to the venue's drinkers.

Police also suggested there had been evidence of drug use at the bar and that they were concerned about the lack of a working CCTV system.

Licensee Kev Pancholi, who took over about three months ago, said the system was functioning again. He said there had been little or no trouble since he took over.

However, officers will tell the committee the problems have continued despite the change in management.

The area neighbourhood watch group has collected more than 90 signatures on a petition to call for action against the bar.

Ratilal Govind, who runs the group, said: "This is a residential area and we have a lot of elderly people and families here.

"They do not want to walk past this bar and be abused or see people fighting or urinating in the street.

"We are not saying it should be closed, we just want it to be run properly.

"There are other pubs and bars in this area and they and their customers do not cause these problems."

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: "I have crossed to the other side of the road to avoid this place in the past.

"Some of the customers it attracts don't know how to behave in a civilised fashion.

"If it does stay open as a bar, the police and the council need to make sure the people who run it know what they are doing."

Mr Pancholi said: "There have been problems with fighting and other things, but that is in the past.

"There have not been any problems for the past couple of months because of what I'm doing here.

"I'm trying to work with the police so I've put some of the prices up to reduce the binge drinking, fixed the CCTV and I'm employing more security on the door. Things are getting better.

"I've had residents coming up to me to say that things have changed a lot since I took over."

In the report to the committee, Pc Tejas Mavani, of the licensing team, said officers had been visiting the pub regularly and meeting with its licensees since 2010 to address the problems.

In the conclusion to the report, he said: "We cannot see how any additional conditions, no matter how stringent, would enable the management of this premises to uphold the licensing objectives in any way.

"We cannot see any other option than to recommend a revocation of the licence."

The hearing is due to take place at Leicester Town Hall at 9.30am on Thursday.