A Whetstone nightclub has been allowed to continue trading after cleaning up its act on the advice of police.

The Stone Marquee, in High Road, was made the subject of a licensing review at Barnet Council following a complaint by Sgt Mark Altman at Barnet Police.

Sergeant Altman said in his report to the local authority that, following 12 assaults at the bar in one year, he was concerned it was not being run properly.

He complained that the bar attracted people “with a propensity for violence” and claimed door staff seemed “overly aggressive” in dealing with incidents.

But at a licensing hearing at Hendon Town Hall yesterday, owner George Demetriou was told his nightclub can remain open.

The manager says he has implemented a series of changes at the club and has been working closely with police, neighbours and Barnet Council to improve its running.

Mr Demetriou, who has run the business for the past 18 months, said: “We have spent a lot of money on sound testing and observations on how our nights are run. We have a good working relationship with Sgt Altman and we have taken his advice.

“I never doubted we would be allowed continue trading, we just needed a bit of fine tuning and that is to be expected after only being open for a year and a half.

“It was a very productive licensing hearing and the conditions have all been agreed with the police.”

Mr Demetriou says the club will soon be publicising a mobile phone number which will be available 24 hours a day for neighbours who have any complaints about the premises.