A TOWN'S first lap-dancing club can re-open on Thursday nights after councillors gave it official approval yesterday.

Private-dance nights will take place upstairs in The Lounge nightclub in Darlington after a series of alterations were made and house rules laid down.

Darlington Borough Council officers closed the newly opened strip club two months ago because the working conditions for the girls were not up to standard.

At a meeting of the town's licensing committee yesterday, Christopher Grunert, a solicitor acting on behalf of the licensees, said changes have been made at the club and approved by council officers.

These include the installation of security cameras, the sectioning-off of a dance area and the provision of a changing room and facilities for the girls.

Mr Grunert said a set of rules had been drawn up relating to the behaviour of customers towards the girls.

He said: "Posters will also line the stairwell going up to the club on the dance nights and so nobody will be in any doubt about the nature of the entertainment."

The dance nights will operate on Thursdays under the name Purple Door, with dancers provided by The Purple Door Club, in Leeds.

There will be between six and nine girls working each evening, with three paying customers at a time allowed to go into an area behind a curtain for private dances.

Councillors said they were satisfied with the work that had been carried out to improve the running of the club and approved the variation of the Public Entertainment Licence.