WOMEN in York have poured scorn on plans from Nestl Rowntree to relaunch its chunky chocolate bar Yorkie as a "men only" snack.

The Evening Press reported yesterday that the company is dropping its macho trucker image of the confectionery - which it manufactures in York - and using the slogan "It's not for girls" in a new television advert, to be launched on Monday.

The campaign will also include messages such as "Don't feed the birds", "Not available in pink", and "King-size not queen-size" to create a male image for the bar.

The advert will also unveil Yorkie's new logo in which the letter O becomes a street sign of a woman with a line across her.

Marketing director Andrew Harrison said: "We felt that we needed to take a stand for the British bloke and reclaim some things in his life, starting with his chocolate. Women Yorkie eaters can switch to an Aero or Little Rolo if they like, Yorkie's feelings won't be hurt."

He added: "Most men these days feel as if the world is changing around them and it has become less and less politically correct to have anything that is only for males.

"Yorkie is starting the reclaiming process of making a particular chocolate just for men."

But women around York dismissed the campaign as a "load of rubbish" and claimed it wouldn't stop them eating the chocolate.

Mattie Hirst, 18, from Stamford Bridge said: "It is totally ridiculous. I love Yorkies and I eat them all the time. How can they say they're just for men?"

Annie Ormond, 18, from Huntington added: "They can't stop women eating the bars. Yorkie is my favourite chocolate bar and I eat them all the time. Why do blokes need their own chocolate bar anyway?"

Yorkie was initially launched in London in 1976, then across the UK the following year.

Since the early days, the bar has used the image of a lorry driver in a series of advertising campaigns, ending six years ago with the last television campaign.

But Yorkie's new "not for girls" slogan could prove more controversial than its traditional trucker image.

Lisha Sellers, 25, from Tang Hall said: "It's a load of rubbish. I eat Yorkies now and again but I would have thought Snickers was more of a man's bar."

Joanne Boyne, 22, from Rawcliffe, added: "I think it is really cheeky. It's not a particularly masculine bar, it's for anyone. I don't struggle to eat a whole one either."

But not all York women were concerned about the new adverts. Sandra Gibb, 52, from Holgate said: "I don't really care either way."

Updated: 11:42 Thursday, March 28, 2002