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Nightclub Fabric has been saved from the threat of closure after bosses agreed to hire seven £300-a-night sniffer dogs to check clubbers for drugs.

Top DJs including Annie Mac, Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada joined a last-minute campaign to save the Farringdon venue after the Standard revealed it faced losing its licence after four drug-related deaths in three years.

It will will now become the first club in London to have drug dogs regularly on patrol. Each dog and handler will cost the club £300 for a four-hour shift.

The club will also have to introduce ID checks on all clubbers, improve CCTV and increase drug searches at the door as part of a package of conditions.

Paddy Whur, the club’s solicitor, said: “They will need seven dogs per night because they can only work for a certain number of hours.

“The vast majority of private sector dog providers are not trained to the level that police dogs are. So it’s been difficult finding one to meet the criteria police want.”

Chief Inspector Ian Howells said: “The relationship between the club and police has been good. There’s a good level of support.

“With the two recent deaths we have sought to engage to improve the security and search regime to mitigate further risks.”

Before the meeting, the club released a statement underlining its “zero tolerance” policy towards drug taking.

A grey haired clubber, in his late thirties, said he had been to the club “200 times in 15 years” and only once been offered drugs.

He added: “I take exception to ID scans. As a law abiding clubber, having your data put on record just because you choose to go clubbing seems like a gross invasion of privacy.“

More than 30,000 people signed a Change.org petition in a show of support to Britain’s biggest club.

DJ Annie Mac said: “Fabric is one of London nightlife’s most important assets.”

Club founders Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly say they will fight the decision.

He told the Standard: “We’ll be appealing. We need to see their written reasons but we fundamentally disagree on a number of key points.”

Mr Leslie told the meeting the club had struggled to find a sniffer dog company that would fit the bill and had reservations about the ID scanner.

He added: “We are on the same page in lots of ways, we just have fundamental differences on how to operate that.”

Mr Reilly said: “In 15 years we have had six million people come through the doors and sadly there have been four deaths.

“We do everything we can to stop people taking drugs in the club. What’s happened recently is this country is awash with drugs.

“There’s been a large batch of MDMA that’s got more powerful and has caught the kids out.”

The judgement means Fabric will continue to operate as normal, with the added conditions attached.