A WOMAN who complained she had found a fly on her steak was told: "People like you should stay at home."

North Yorkshire woman Jane Kay got the candid advice in a letter from Kevin Booth, of The Steer Inn, at Wilberfoss, near York, when her family wrote to complain to him.

Jane was dining with seven of her family at the inn when she discovered the flying insect on her steak. It is believed it flew in through open patio doors.

Jane's brother Brian Lawn, of Meadow Way, Tadcaster, said they complained to the co-owner, Charlotte Booth, and asked for the cost of the steak meal to be deducted from the bill.

When she refused - because an alternative meal was offered - Mr Lawn's girlfriend, Rebecca Newsham, wrote to complain.

The family was stunned at the response. Restaurant boss Kevin Booth wrote that Mrs Kay's "petulance" had embarrassed her co-diners and said she had "left home in a bad mood".

"People like you should stay at home, keep your windows closed and eat alone," he wrote in his reply.

Mr Booth said his wife immediately removed the tiny insect and offered to make another meal, but Mrs Kay had refused, saying she had been put off. She later ate dessert.

Mr Booth said he stood by his comments. "From time to time you get an awkward customer like this who has no intention of enjoying themselves," he said. "They shouldn't be allowed out.

"It's too stupid and pathetic for words quite frankly. The fact they have gone this far just endorses the attitude of my letter. Somebody like this is a waste of ink.

"An insect flying into food has happened to all of us - even the Pope or the Queen. "You just wave it away and get on with it. There was no complaint about the quality of the food or the service."

Mr Lawn, 23, a security guard, has vowed they will never return. "I was shocked and disgusted by the letter," he said. "My girlfriend and I have been going there at least once a week for the past seven or eight months. I just couldn't believe their response.

"If they had just not charged us for that one meal that would have been the end of it."

But Mr Booth added: "We serve between 400 and 500 meals a week and I can't remember the last time we got a complaint."

Updated: 10:17 Saturday, June 07, 2003