A HAMPSHIRE filling station wants permission to serve alcohol for 19 hours per day – despite fears it will encourage antisocial behaviour.

The Co-op at Monks Brook filling station in Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh, is aiming to sell alcohol between 5am and midnight every day.

Currently, staff can only sell drink between 8am and 11pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 10.30pm on Sundays.

Neighbours have handed in a petition calling for the licensing bid to be thrown out, with one calling the scheme “extremely foolhardy”.

Members of Passfield Close Residents Association fear extending the hours will “seriously affect peoples’ right to a decent quality of life”

by increasing late-night traffic noise and encouraging antisocial behaviour.

In a joint letter, neighbours Maureen Rowles and Nick Morris said that problems associated with large gatherings of youths appeared to have subsided recently and that they “would like it to stay that way”.

Another resident wrote: “Encouraging the sale of alcohol at a petrol filling station (from 5am to midnight) seems to be extremely foolhardy.

In view of the fact Government and police are trying to curb drinkdriving, surely to extend the licensing hours would be totally irresponsible.

“Any extra activity during those hours would cause the residents in Passfield Close a great deal of stress and annoyance. The houses in the close are just yards away from this site, so any further noise from traffic movement and unruly teenagers (as this would surely attract them) would be most unacceptable and unnecessary.”

Company bosses have vowed to maintain a continually recording CCTV system with warning signs in place.

They have also pledged to keep an incident log and refusals register as well as operating a proof of age scheme such as Challenge 25.

A licensing panel consisting of four Eastleigh borough councillors will examine the application today at 10am at the Civic Offices in Leigh Road.