A POPULAR curry house in the town centre has been allowed to keep its alcohol licence despite a number of street brawls between rival gangs outside.

The Gurkha Square, in Gun Street, had its licence up for review at the Licensing Sub-Committee Meeting on March 13 following a series of violent street fights by underage customers drinking at the bar inside the restaurant.

The first incident, detailed on a report submitted by Thames Valley Police to the committee on January 22, took place on December 12, 2012 and resulted in six fighters being arrested and charged with violent disorder.

The second, on October 14, 2013, involved two members of the public being assaulted outside Grosvenor Casino, Queens Road, by seven gang members.

Finally, on December 26 last year, The Oracle’s CCTV footage showed four men being left unconscious in the middle of the road outside the restaurant.

As the footage of the most recent incident was played to committee members, Councillor Paul Woodward said: “We recognise how vital the Friday and Saturday trade is and we want you to run a good business, but our main concern is that this doesn’t happen again.”

On March 10, Thames Valley Police announced that the six gang members arrested in 2012 were convicted the day before at a trial at Reading Crown Court.

The committee agreed that doormen should now be employed at weekends to put a stop to fights and that restaurant owner Deepak Gurung should inform police of a big event at the restaurant 10 days before it took place.