Alcohol should not be sold after midnight according to Liberal Democrat councillors calling for a change to the borough’s licensing policy.

As part of a review of Epsom and Ewell's policy, the councillors said no alcohol should be sold after 11pm from Sunday to Thursday or after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

The councillors said this is a response to the "pleas of residents" living in Epsom town centre who say they are regularly disturbed for up to an hour after pubs and clubs start emptying.

They also said that regardless of residential accommodation being situated directly above licensed premises, the hours alcohol can be served for have "crept up" into the small hours, with some premises licensed until 3am.

Liberal Democrat town councillor Alison Kelly said: "There has to be a better balance between the needs of residents and those of the night-time economy. "I can see no reason why Epsom should have the same licensing hours as a major city, which clearly it does in some cases. "We need to claw back from the ridiculous situation which exists where the needs of residents have, for the most part, been ignored. "Residents living in a town centre do expect noise, but being unable to sleep until after 3am on a regular basis is simply not acceptable."

The Liberal Democrat councillors said they are also calling for a curfew on the use of outside areas, a requirement for all clubs to have entrance lobbies to contain noise and bass vibration, and a more linked-up approach for planning permission and alcohol licences for the same premises.