A FARNWORTH nightclub will stay open until 4am - but for the last two hours no alcohol will be served.

Club Rac in Market Street hopes to cater for club and bar staff finishing their late-night shifts.

Councillors yesterday approved an application from the Farnworth nightspot to extend its opening hours by two hours from 2am.

Soft drinks, tea and coffee, along with a selection of food, will be on offer to customers after 2am.

Club manager Clare Topcu said: "We will be very choosy about who we let in. Soft, chill-out music will be played, not heavy dance music.

"Not everyone wants to go home at 2am these days. They want to carry on."

The 4am licence comes into effect immediately but is likely to only be used on Friday and Saturday nights.

At yesterday's licensing meeting at Bolton Town Hall, councillors agreed that Ms Topcu ran "a very good club and had a good reputation."

The committee heard that police had not objected to the application and there had been minimal concern from residents in Farnworth

Club Rac has no windows and is fully soundproofed. The club manager promised that a noise gauge would be strictly monitored to stop disc jockeys increasing the volume of the music.

Licensing bosses have placed two conditions on the club's hours extension: no noise should be heard from Club Rac at the nearest residential property beyond 2am, and the door should be strictly monitored at all times.

The decision means Club Rac is one of the few nightspots in Bolton with a 4am licence, along with places like J2 in Nelson's Square and Icon on Bridge Street.