A KEBAB shop has been granted a permanent late night licence, which the owner has said will help maintain healthy competition with other nearby takeaways.

Best Kebab House, in Angel Street, has stiff competition from the likes of Shakeeys, though a temporary agreement which allowed it to trade until 5am on weekends has been made permanent.

Director Abdil Yurekli previously said remaining open until the early hours is crucial and will allow him to continue targeting late night customers in what is a popular strip for post-nightclub eating habits.

A public consultation closed on August 19 and the following day the new licence was granted by the city council.

A council spokesman said: "Because there were no objections to the application a decision was made without it going to committee."

He went on to explain that: "If something doesn't reach a certain threshold of requirement it doesn't go to committee and so can be decided by officers.

"No representations were received from any party so the application was granted on August 20," he added.

Mr Yurekli, 40, took over the kebab shop's managing company Bestay Limited in March 2017 according to Companies House, and told the Worcester News the venue became Best Kebab around two and a half years ago.

The late night refreshment licence will allow the takeaway to stay open until 4.30am Sunday to Friday and until 5am on Saturdays and serve hot food but not alcohol.

Referring to the temporary licence, the council spokesman said: "They have done the ground work there and as there was not any problems all is well."

He added that there were likely no objections during the consultation because the licence doesn't involve the serving of alcohol.