The new owners of a Chingford bar have vowed to clean up its reputation after it was targeted in a drugs raid and became the source of anti-social behaviour under previous management.

Siblings Natalie and Daniel Keefe, of Beresford Road, hope they can turn the fortunes of Loco Lounge around after securing an extended closing time of 2am seven days a week for the bar, in Station Road.

The pair renamed the establishment when they took over in October after residents constantly complained of noise and fights breaking out when it was McQueens, which opened in December 2010.

Before that different owners managed it as Bar Lush, which was temporarily closed in 2009 after police found drugs there during a raid.

The new owners had applied for a closing time of 4am on Fridays and Saturdays and 2am the rest of the week as they try to compete with other bars since taking it over in October 2012, but said they would settle for 2.30am.

A licensing sub-committee hearing at Waltham Forest Town Hall today decided to grant the 2am closing time, an extension of one hour on their current time.

Ms Keefe, who also works as a manager for the NHS, said: “We really want to work with people and the police to make it as safe and good as possible.

“We’re still thinking about what to make of the result. We strongly believe we’ve been managing it very well since the problems it used to have.

“We’re being kind of blamed for the issues that have come before.”

Licensing officers confirmed no noise complaints or public nuisance issues have been reported since October, but police opposed the application after being called out to an assault outside the bar on Christmas Day.

Ms Keefe said the incident was recorded as taking place at Loco Lounge because their security had intervened in the fight, which had spilled out of a nearby business.

But PC Donna Wilcox said measures needed to be introduced to tackle bar-related crime in Station Road.

She pointed to police statistics which detail 59 offences committed in the road in 2012.

She said violent crime contributed to 40 per cent of those offences, with 37.3 per cent being thefts she said were related to nightclubs and bars.

The police officer added: “We get a high number of anti-social behaviour calls particularly around Chingford Railway and Bus Station, opposite the bar, and that’s a cause for concern as well.”

But sub-committee chair Kieran Falconer granted the 2am extension and Ms Keefe agreed to security conditions including a minimum of one bouncer on the door from 9pm.

Cllr Falconer said: “Good luck and we think you will be very responsible. We hope this will be the turn around for the bar.”