PUB landlords claim a free Martini promotion - and a big hole in the road - in a York square have hit their businesses hard.

And they say the rules which allowed Martini to be given away in St Sampson's Square, when they are not allowed to sell alcohol under strictly controlled conditions, are grossly unfair.

Willie Leech, publican at the Roman Bath, and Nathan Bradley, manager of the Three Cranes, believe the promotion was a further blow for trade at a time when their business was already being affected by lengthy and noisy repair work on a nearby collapsed sewer.

They are also unhappy about the types of people being given free drinks, and about the use of their pub toilets by the Martini drinkers who, they say, had no intention of paying for drinks in their bars. Mr Leech claimed that some of the people being handed drinks looked distinctly under-age, and also that some were barred from city centre pubs because of previous behaviour.

"People were using our toilets without asking," said Mr Bradley.

Nikos Monoyiou, owner of the adjacent Mana Taverna, also had concerns, saying Martini drinkers kept trying to sit down at his tables in the square intended for his diners and staff had to ask them to leave.

But a spokesman for City of York Council, which was responsible for the Martini promotion, have defended the event, saying it was strictly monitored and controlled.

And city centre officer John Wood said the rules barring alcohol sales in the square were not the responsibility of the council but the police licensing department.

Yorkshire Water said the work on repairing the collapsed sewer had been delayed, firstly because a landlord had requested a halt in the work while August's Ebor race meeting was on, and secondly because a pre-existing gas leak had been discovered while repairs to the sewer were being conducted, and this had needed to be repaired.

A spokesman said work was now progressing again on the sewer repair and it was hoped, "touch wood," that it would be finished by the end of the week.

PICTURE: Willie Leech, Nikos Monoyiou, and Nathan Bradley, who are angry over the free Martini event