A LAP-DANCING club has closed because it had the wrong entertainment licence.

The Lounge nightclub, in Darlington, introduced the lap-dancing nights on Thursdays two months ago, featuring around ten women provided by The Purple Door club, in Leeds.

Customers could pay £10 for a private dance behind a screen with the girl of their choice.

However, when licencing officers at Darlington Borough Council heard about the additional entertainment, they said it did not have the relevant licence to hold the events.

A spokesman for the council said: "A letter has been sent to the club informing them that the lap-dancing nights must be stopped until the right licence has been obtained."

He said the licence application would be considered by the council's licensing committee but the earliest opportunity for this would be at its meeting at the end of June.

Tony Knox, of Absolute Leisure, which owns The Lounge, said: "Darlington is probably one of the few towns of its size not to have a lap- dancing club, so we thought we would give it a go and it was going very well."

Although Thursday night lap-dancing was cancelled, Mr Knox said the club does have the right licence for such entertainment.

"We have the top licensing firm in the North-East and they have said we don't need any extra licence, but we are prepared to work with the council to keep them happy."

Mr Knox said he would meet licensing officers from Darlington Council next week to discuss the situation.