It could be popcorn and chocolates or something a bit stronger on your average night out at the flicks.

City Screen, York, is going to court this week to seek permission for patrons to drink while they watch the film. The £5m complex is hoping to be able to sell beer and wine to cinemagoers so they can drink in the auditorium, Dutch-style.

Police licensing officers are not objecting to the scheme, describing it as "a step forward".

For safety reasons, the drinks will be available only in plastic glasses, and ushers will be responsible for ensuring strict licensing rules are not broken. Tony Clarke, bar manager at the three-screen cinema off Coney Street, told the Evening Press: "It is really good to see and be part of the revitalisation of York city centre, and particularly being in a position to offer residents and visitors a different experience of cinema than they may be used to. We are hoping, if successful, the new licensing of the screens and bars at City Screen will do well and serve better the need of our customers."

But York licensing officer Ashley Fitzhugh warned: "This is not a free-for-all.

"People cannot bring in six-packs, but if the court grants the licence, cinemagoers will be able to buy drinks dispensed from the bar and drink while watching films." While at court, cinema bosses are also hoping to change their licence so anyone can drink in their riverside bar, not just cinemagoers and members, as under the present arrangements. A spokesman for the Odeon Cinema, Blossom Street, which closed its bar a few years ago, said: "We have no plans to reopen the bar, nor to seek a licence to drink in the screens themselves."

If the licence application is successful, the City Screen bar will join the other popular riverside bars, Bar 38 and the Pitcher and Piano, which have revitalised the former Evening Press offices in Coney Street.