A pub landlord has received a death threat after an Evening Press beer column investigation threw his "macabre" game of chance into the limelight.

BOARD STIFF: Dan Edwards, landlord of the Red Lion in Wetherby, with the threatening letter he has received concerning the pub's so-called "stiff stakes"

Dan Edwards, landlord at the Red Lion in Wetherby, received a hand-written letter warning him to "beware the Grim Reaper" and to "drive safely" after his pub's "Stiff Stakes", which gambles on the life expectancy of elderly celebrities, was featured in Bar Talk.

"This doesn't really worry me, but it is all getting a bit out of hand." said Dan.

"I am the third landlord to run this stake in the pub, why did no-one else attract any media attention?

"Maybe I should include myself in the stake, whoever gets my name has got a good chance."

For a nominal 50p a week punters are given the name of a celebrity, and if that person subsequently dies, the holder of the name can claim the pot, currently standing at £180.

Dave Hoffman, 52, a regular in the pub and the winner of £170 when Frank Sinatra died last year, sees no problem with the game.

"It's just a bit of fun, we have nothing personal against the celebrities."

As national media interest has brought the story to the fore, Wetherby Police have launched an investigation into a possible breach of licensing law.

A spokeswoman for West Yorkshire Police said: "We have been to see the licensee and he has agreed to stop the game and return the money to the customers."

She said the stake was a game of chance, which is forbidden from taking place in licensed premises under the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963. Licensee Mr Edwards, who used to work at the Rose & Crown in Lawrence Street, York, had no qualms about running the stakes, despite it being branded "macabre" by a Buckingham Palace spokesman - three members of the royal family were featured in the game.

"The customers love it," he said. "As it is my job to keep them happy, on police advice I have stopped it for now, but with the company's lawyers we are looking for ways around the problem.

"I reckon Yeltsin will be the first to go - never have Russian politics been so keenly followed in North Yorkshire."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.