GORILLA suits, fire juggling, magic tricks and chest shaving it might sound like a wild hen night or a trip to the circus, but this was all part of the search for York's Bartender Of The Year.

Bartenders from across the city battled it out to become York's very own answer to Tom Cruise in Cocktail, in a competition at Bar 38.

Bottles were set alight and thrown around to music as a crowd gathered, whistling and cheering for their favourite local barman.

One brave contestant even had his chest shaved by a woman as he made a gin and tonic over her.

Another performed magic tricks, including suspending a glass in midair as he poured a drink.

Bar 38's Tim Garrett even dressed up in a gorilla suit and "monkeyed around for the crowd" as he made his banana-flavoured cocktail.

Barmen were tested on their bar knowledge, their ability to pour without measuring, drink mixing and speed. They also had to create their own cocktail using drinks provided by sponsors Bacardi.

In the final round they pulled out all the stops as they were judged on flair and entertainment.

The event was organised by Doug Waldron, manager of Bar 38.

He said: "There are some great bars in York now and some really talented bartenders. A lot of cities have these competitions, so I decided it was high time we had one in York.

"It's a great way to get York bartenders a bit of recognition, and the crowd really enjoyed it. They all showed a lot of flair and imagination."

He now plans to run the competition every year.

Lucky judges, who tested all the drinks for their quality, included Tiger Tiger branch manager Brett Collier, Bar 38's area manager Steve Lavery, and Emma Bailey from Bacardi.

The first prize of £250 went to John Steel, of Bobo Lobo, who impressed the judges in every round.

Andy Pope, a former manager at Bar 38, won £100 for coming second, and Tim Garrett scooped third place.