THE firm behind two York nightspots has been fined £16,000 after insects were discovered in its whisky.

Nightclub giant Luminar Leisure, which owns Ikon and Diva at Clifton Moor as well as The Gallery and Toffs, admitted four counts of breaching the Trade Descriptions Act by stocking alcohol with a lower alcoholic content than labelled.

Matt Boxall, of York Trading Standards, said four samples of spirits were taken from Ikon and Diva on December 16, 2002 which were of an "unacceptably poor quality". One bottle of Glenfiddich whisky had an alcohol strength of 17.8 per cent, less than half what it should be, and sediment was discovered in the bottle.

Two fruit flies were discovered in another bottle of Glenfiddich, found on top of the bar in Diva, which had an alcohol strength of 29.1 per cent, he said.

Normal Glenfiddich should have an alcohol content of 40 per cent.

A bottle of Christopher's Special Dry Gin had an alcohol content of 33.6 per cent, instead of the expected 37.5 per cent. A bottle of Lamb's Genuine Navy Rum was 32.3 per cent instead of 40 per cent.

"None of the bottles the samples were taken from had lids on," he said. Steven Milner, for Luminar, admitted the management had failed to ensure staff properly followed company procedures and the audit department had failed to spot the problem.

He said the bottles were not sealed when they were not in use, and this had led to a deterioration of alcohol content through evaporation.

He said the Glenfiddich had been particularly slow selling and no new bottles had been ordered for two years. He said it was also possible a member of staff had topped up the Glenfiddich with a more sugary substance.

"Had company policy been properly followed this problem may never have occurred," he said. "There is no suggestion that the company has watered down spirits to make profits. It was human error and not deliberate."

Since the incident Glenfiddich is no longer stocked at the venue and all open bottles are sealed when not in use, Mr Milner said.

Luminar was fined £4,000 for each offence and ordered to pay £2,806 in court costs.

After the case Mr Boxall said: "The quality of these spirits was particularly poor. The council's food and safety team view quality issues very seriously and are delighted the magistrates have reinforced this message."

Updated: 10:29 Friday, April 16, 2004