An Indian restaurant has been granted a licence to serve alcohol to customers waiting for a takeaway despite opposition from the police.

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The owner of the Star of India on Mill Street, Shams Uddin, applied to East Devon District Council (EDDC) for a premises licence to stop people going to the pub while waiting for their order.

He said he was losing business by nor being able to serve alcohol, but the police objected, saying the takeaway area is too small to accommodate people drinking alcohol.

A representative for the force on licensing matters spoke at an EDDC licensing meeting on Tuesday to discuss the application and reiterated: “It is not a suitable area for people drinking and waiting.”

But Mr Uddin said since he opened the Star of India in 2008 he had never had any incidents and said his customers, who can currently bring their own alcohol into the restaurant, were ‘very responsible’.

And the licensing sub-committee agreed, granting him a licence which allows alcohol to be served to waiting takeaway customers.

But they also placed several conditions in line with police recommendations upon CCTV and staff training for serving alcohol.