A famous late night drinking den will remain just that after a court decided it could keep its early hours alcohol licence.

The Dolphin, in Mare Street, Hackney Central, known as a legendary location for after dark revelry, will continue to stay open until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights following a year long licencing battle with Hackney Council.

Alfie Smith, who managed the pub as they fought to retain their licence, said: “We are very pleased with the outcome.

“We have been trying to give the Dolphin more of a pub vibe during the week and we are getting local bands in to play gigs.

“But when the clock hits midnight then the stuff the pub is really known for comes on.”

The trouble first started when police slapped the notorious boozer with the title of “worst theft hotspot” in Hackney as it had the highest number of reported crimes of any venue in the borough.

Sgt Guy Hicks, of the police’s licencing team, also pointed out other breaches to the venue’s licence, such as loud music played late at night, at a review hearing last September.

The council’s licencing sub-committee decided to shorten the opening hours of the infamous hostelry in the hope of reducing crime which led to a lengthy, and ultimately victorious, appeal process.

Cllr Emma Plouviez, Hackney Council’s chair of licensing, said: “Managers at The Dolphin have made efforts to tackle the disproportionately high levels of theft at the pub.

“We will continue to work with them to reduce crime and the impact on local residents in the area.”

The owners, Yasar and Nuvit Yildiz, stepped up security with a new team of doormen and a free cloakroom to tackle the problems.

Mr Smith added: “We have a huge lost and found area and have really stepped up our efforts, there is CCTV all over the place.”

Part of the decision at Stratford magistrates court on Tuesday included restrictions on the beer garden.

They have revamped the outside space to allow more control over how many people are out there and will be closing it earlier.

The Dolphin will now be open until 1am from Sunday to Wednesday, until 2am on Thursdays and 4am on weekends.