A community centre bar threatened with closure following a raft of complaints has been saved from the axe.

The bar, at the East Oxford Community Centre, on the corner of Princes Street and Cowley Road, has caused residents a headache for months.

They say they have been kept awake by shouting and swearing when customers spill out on to the street.

There have also been complaints about bottles which have been thrown around outside.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "We have been living with the problems for so long now that we just got used to it. There have been many, many complaints and people haven't just been complaining for the hell of it.

"Having up to 20 people on the street, screaming and shouting and being abusive at 2am, is not fun."

Oxford City Council, which owns the centre, admitted it had considered closing the bar, but has now said it will work with the centre's committee to fix the problem.

The council became involved when the number of complaints it received earlier this year rose significantly.

The centre is run by volunteers, but the social club is run as a business, which has a members-only rule.

There are about 750 members who pay £1 to join.

The centre is home to a variety of community classes and activities.

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said: "We considered closing the bar because of complaints received.

"But we recognise what an important community venue it is and how the events that take place there contribute to the vitality of the Cowley Road area.

"There seems to have been confusion that the centre itself could face closure. That was never the case, our concerns were only to do with the way the bar was being run.

"We are now working with the community centre management committee, the social club and local councillors on an action plan for running the bar."

A Princes Street resident said: "Closing the bar would dramatically improve the residents' quality of life, but anything that would bring it under control would be a good thing.

"No one has a personal vendetta against the centre - lots of people use it - but it is just not best used as a nightclub-style venue where its problems spill out onto the street."

Mary-Jane Sareva, ward councillor for the area, said: "The centre is run by volunteers who do not always have the expertise and experience needed to run it as perhaps they should. Both the bar and the centre are important to the community. We are hopeful that things can be run and managed in a better way in the future. Safety and security is important."

When some of the centre's regular users discovered the bar could be under threat, they launched a petition to save it, which had more than 150 signatures. No-one from the centre was available for comment yesterday.