Customers at a small Twickenham café will not be allowed to drink booze while standing after the Met Police raised concerns that pedestrians would be forced to step into the road to pass drinkers.

Water Lane in Twickenham town centre has won permission to sell booze at the venue but it must follow extra conditions after the police opposed the plans.

Applicant Jerome Dwyer, who has run the café on Water Lane for almost two years, spoke out against the conditions at Richmond Council's licensing committee on September 26 ahead of the decision.

He said he had agreed to most of the conditions with the police but could not agree to only allowing table service and completely banning people drinking while standing due to the small size of the venue.

Mr Dwyer said the conditions would make holding events like wine tasting and networking more difficult.

He said: "The small nature of the space and the niche product that we would be offering, I just don't feel that it's proportionate for us to have table service and no vertical drinking in the premises."

He added the café would not "attract revellers and crowds" if the licence was granted as it was a very small venue, with capacity to comfortably fit around 20 people, and it would serve niche wines.

But PC Justin Campbell-Harris, police licensing officer, said the small size of the venue could lead to "overspills of customers outside, especially in the summer months" if people were allowed to drink while standing.

He said: "My concerns are that if we allow vertical drinking in the venue this will allow more people inside the venue, creating an environment that in summer months may spill outside causing congestion to a small pathway and road that is in daily use by residents and visitors to the borough. This may create a scenario where members of the public would have to step out onto the road to pass customers."

Mr Dwyer said he intended to run the venue responsibly, as part of the community, and that it would not be a nuisance to the area.

But the committee decided the conditions proposed by the police were "appropriate and proportionate".

The conditions added to the licence mean customers are not allowed to drink booze while standing at the venue and it must have table service only.

Further conditions also ban the venue from selling single cans to be taken off the premises and from selling spirits, while it must try to ensure customers do not stand immediately outside to drink booze.

A report on the committee's decision said it "concluded that these conditions would mitigate concerns regarding the prevention of street drinking causing a nuisance and also the potential for drinkers outside to cause a blockage to force pedestrians off the narrow pavement and onto the road".

The committee also added another condition meaning there can be no more than 20 customers inside the venue at any given time.

Under the licence, the café can sell booze from 11am to 11pm on Sundays to Thursdays, and 11am to 11.59pm on Fridays and Saturdays.