SEX shop customers in Burnley will have to be open about their visits after security fears forced an adult store to close down the discreet back entrance.

The private shop at 124c Colne Road in Duke Bar has asked the council if it can move the entrance from the back to the front of the shop after a spate of thefts -- meaning visitors will have to go into the store from one of the town's busiest roads.

Managers at the private shop said that over the past month the store had been regularly targeted by thieves who took advantage of the fact that the entrance was dark and out of sight of the main road.

Police investigating the thefts advised the store to shut the rear entrance and open the door at the front of the shop.

CCTV is also to be installed to increase staff safety, bosses at the shop said.

The back entrance was a condition of the original licence for the private shop, which opened more than 18 years ago.

The latest licence application has been made by Essex-based Darker Enterprises which runs a chain of 50 sex shops, including one in Darwen Street, Blackburn.

Councillors will discuss the application next Wednesday when it is set to be approved in the interests of crime reduction and safety. A spokesman for Darker Enterprises said they would not comment until after the meeting.