A STORE in Cowley Road will use up to 16 CCTV cameras to ward off criminals after it was granted a licence to sell alcohol.

The application from Premier News, on the corner of Derby Road in Uxbridge, had worried police after two armed robberies in the area.

Officers insisted the convenience store install at least five cameras, as well as complying with a string of other safety conditions. Applicant Murugupillai Gunasegaram told Hillingdon Council’s licensing sub-committee on Wednesday last week that he had already installed nine cameras and was willing to put up seven more.

He also has to make sure the counter is at a certain height and that alcoholic drinks are not displayed out of sight of shopkeepers.

Councillors agreed to grant the licence for alcohol sales between 8am and 11pm.

Mr Gunasegaram said: “I am pleased that they have approved the licence and I have agreed to all the conditions.

“Someone came down here and checked my shop before they made the decision.

“They said I need at least five cameras, I already have nine and I am willing to put in place 16.”

He added that he was not worried about being targeted by robbers because of the precautions he had taken.

Ward councillors David Routledge and Keith Burrows (both Con, Uxbridge South) objected to the application, on the grounds there was already drink-related anti-social behaviour in the area, and another store, they argued, would just make things worse.

But Mr Gunasegaram has pledged to sell alcohol responsibly, and pointed out that there are a number of other stores operating late-evening licences safely nearby.