The Co-op Welcome, in Wootton Hope Drive, has become a hotspot for gangs of youths on a Friday night and police called for a review of the premises' licence amid fears about underage sales.

Pc David Bryan told Northampton Borough Council's licensing sub-committee: "There are complaints from the public in relation to the Co-op in the Wootton area; examples including seeing youths stealing stuff and underage drinking.

"There can be as few as one members of staff in the store on a Friday night.

"Since the review papers have been submitted, control measures have been implemented to the credit of the Co-op. These have improved the situation but it is work ongoing."

Sergeant Paul Beard, from the Nene Valley and Hunsbury Safer Community Team, confirmed the Co-op had been working with police to tackle the problems by increasing the number of security guards on a Friday night and playing classical music to discourage youths from congregating.

John Gaunt, acting for the Co-op, said: "It's unfortunate in respect of this application that the first we knew that we were going to have a review with this licence was at the end of a meeting where therapeutic measures were discussed.

"We now accept that the original security guard may not have been very adequate and we now have two security guards."

Chair of the sub-committee, councillor Marianne Taylor, gave the Co-op a number of new conditions to the licence, including CCTV and a refusal register for alcohol sales.

Councillor Taylor said: "There shall be no change to the layout and particularly the location of alcohol without liaising with the police.

"The Co-op does employ SIA trained security guards on each Friday of the week, for a period of no less than three months, starting at 6pm until close."