The lights are on and China House is still operating, as pictured on Saturday

A Chinese restaurant in Preston which had its licence withdrawn due to safety fears has continued to trade.

China House on Aqueduct Street had its licence revoked on Tuesday by councillors worried about a lack of fire safety standards in the restaurant.

Residents have been left outraged as despite a forthcoming legal notice from the council, the restaurant has indicated it will apply to appeal and be allowed to remain open.

Evidence at the licensing sub-committee meeting saw reports from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service detailing how gas canisters in the basement could have exploded – sending the restaurant sky high and damaging properties in surrounding streets.

One resident, who did not wish to be named, wrote to Blog Preston: “I can’t believe they’ve been shut down and yet they are just carrying on as if nothing had happened.

“Reports said they were cooking with gas bottles rigged up with garden hose. That’s so frightening.

“I went down last night and doors are open, lights on, people in restaurant and the neon sign in the window saying “open” is on.”

Another posted on the website for reporting problems in your area, FixMyStreet, said: “The China House restaurant on Aqueduct Street has according to the local media been closed down having had its licence revoked. Walking past the building tonight, the doors are open, lights are on, and several people appear to be in the restaurant area.

“This needs investigating as the general feeling in the local community is that those associated with this restaurant are unlikely to comply with any regulations or verdicts whatsoever.”

The restaurants owners, Wen Qiang Cai and Yun Qin Weng, said they were addressing the safety issues and were planning to appeal to the magistrates court to keep their licence.

A Preston Council spokesman said: “The owners of the China House had their licence revoked by the committee, however, a notice was being typed yesterday and sent to them.

“Once they receive that notice they have 21 days to appeal, during which time they can still trade.

“If they don’t appeal then they need to close. If they do appeal a date will be set at the magistrates court and until that date they can still trade.”

Do you live in the area? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below