Three kebab shop owners face losing their licence after serving customers up to five hours after their trading hours.

Sussex Police are calling on councillors to consider revoking the licences of three shops whose management have shown a “flagrant disregard” for their licensed opening hours.

The force say staff are adding to noise nuisance and bad behaviour late at night after being repeatedly caught remaining open long after their lights should have been turned off and ignoring formal written warnings from the council about their conduct.

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Casba, Casba 2 and Golden Grill, all in Western Road in Hove, could have their licences revoked at yet-to-be-scheduled hearings later this month.

Police officers report management have refused to shut up shop claiming they are just competing with rival companies who are continuing to trade late into the night.

Officers say Casba 2 has stayed open past its permitted closing time of midnight on Sunday to Thursday and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays on six occasions already this year.

On New Year’s Eve the kebab shop was seen trading until 5am in the morning despite three visits from police asking them to close.

A plain clothes special constable bought a portion of chips from the same shop on February 8 at 3.23am, almost two-and-a-half hours after they were supposed to close.

Staff working at Casba have been spotted working past their permitted closing time of 3am by police on five occasions since November.

The traders had already been formally warned by environmental protection staff at Brighton and Hove City Council in May last year after complaints that “banging” and “cleaning-up noise” could be heard every night at the shop until 6am.

Staff were seen serving at 5.10am on New Year’s Eve in the worst of the reported breaches.

Golden Grill has also opened beyond its closing time of 2.30am on six occasions in the past four months, according to police officers.

On December 21 at 2.45am staff took money off a customer for hot food in front of the officer, despite claiming they were no longer serving.

Jean Irving, licensing and public safety manager for Sussex Police, said: “There have been numerous interventions to stop these three serving and they have taken no notice.

“Serving late prevents dispersal and causes a nuisance to neighbours that live in that area.

“It has reached the point where we ask ‘how many times can we tell them’ and we have had enough.”