SIX shots of scotch cost a York publican almost £4,000 - after he was convicted of selling customers a cheaper brand spirit from a Bells Whisky bottle.

Michael Edwin Johnson, 55, licensee of The Magnet in Osbaldwick Lane, was convicted under the Food Safety Act 1990 of displaying a product with a label that falsely described it.

During yesterday's trial at York Magistrates' Court Johnson, who had previously pleaded not guilty, claimed that Jacobite whisky was decanted into the 4.5 litre Bells Whisky bottle for convenience, because the larger optic was the only one free in his bar.

He said the label was turned towards the wall, so customers could not see it, and that a large sign on the bottle clearly showed it was the house whisky priced at £1 per measure. He also pointed out that Bells Whisky was on sale elsewhere in the bar at £1.50 per measure.

When asked in court why he didnot remove the Bells label from the bottle he said: "Sheer laziness. It's pointless if it's pointing to the wall. They are murder to get off, those."

Johnson, who told the court he had been a licensee for 22 years and was a former president of the York Licensed Victuallers' Association, was summonsed to court following an operation at his pub by York Trading Standards officers on September 26, 2003.

Following a complaint, officers Susan Rumford and Richard Withers visited the pub and asked barmaid Melanie Fahey for two treble Bells whiskies.

Mr Withers, a principal trading standards officer at the time of the operation, told the court that Ms Fahey went straight to the large Bells bottle in question to dispense the drinks and charged him £6 for the two drinks.

However, in evidence Ms Fahey said she went for a small Bells Whisky bottle, but was ushered to the large bottle by Mr Withers, and assumed he had decided to order the house whisky instead.

Scientific analysis of the whisky served to the officers showed it was not Bells.

Giving evidence, Johnson said: "I wouldn't do anything like that.

"It all seems to revolve of whether the label was facing the wall and it was facing the wall."

Magistrates took into account Johnson's previous good character, his naivety in not removing the label, and the fact that it was a one-off incident.

He was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,759.40.

After the trial Stuart Benson, food and safety unit manager at City of York Council, said it was important that consumers could trust licensees in the city.

He said: "We think it's important to protect consumers from being misled.

"We will continue to carry on inspections of public houses and to take samples of spirits to ensure that they are not falsely described."

Updated: 10:23 Saturday, January 29, 2005