A shop in an area troubled by street drinkers says it has applied to extend its alcohol licence as a "last resort" in response to compeition from a major supermarket.  

Costcutter in Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green, will find out on Friday if it has been successful in its bid to sell alcohol from 6am until midnight, seven days a week. 

The store is currently permitted to sell alcohol from 8am to 11pm Monday and Saturday, and 10am to 10.30pm on Sunday. 

But the owner said the move was prompted by a fall in trade caused by the opening of a Sainsbury's in The Broadway. 

Police, businesses, councillors and residents have all backed calls to introduce a Controlled Drinking Zone (CDZ) in Snakes Lane East following increasing concerns of crime and anti-social behaviour related to street drinking. 

Redbridge licensing officer Sergeant Douglas Fyfe said the neighbourhood police team had been “struggling on a daily basis to deal with anti-social behaviour and low level crime in the area of shops and underground station”.

He added: “The team are spending a disproportionate amount of time dealing with these issues and they believe that any extension in hours will only give the street drinkers further opportunity to become intoxicated and cause further problems in the area and make their job harder.” 

But manager Shailesh Patel said his store has a policy not to serve known troublemakers.  

"We open at 6am, and not very often, but sometimes at weekends, we get customers who want to buy alcohol but we cannot serve them," he said.

"This causes arguments and we've even had to call the police on a few occasions. 

"The street drinkers are persistent, but one-by-one we started to ban them. 

"There are four or five of them that sit in the underpass and are always causing problems.

"We know who they are and they are not allowed in at all."

Mr Patel claims all local businesses have been undercut since Sainsbury's opened in The Broadway. 

He added: "Everyone is suffering. We have lost 25 per cent of our trade since they opened. 

"We need this to survive - it is our last resort."

Due to staff shortages, the shop closes by 7.30pm, but Mr Patel hopes to open until midnight in the summer.