Staff at two of York's wine bars weren't half happy when they were told they would finally be allowed to serve a good old-fashioned pint.

Until now, by law Plonkers and Oscar's have only been permitted to serve HALF pints of beer and lager - despite being able to sell WHOLE pints of cider.

But this week bar workers could say bottoms-up to the law at last thanks to a decision by York magistrates and police to lift the ban.

It followed an appeal in court from licensees Eileen Goodwin and Andrew Flemming Dunn, who say their bars have been inundated with complaints from tourists angered or insulted when requests for a traditional English pint of booze were refused.

Toasting her success, Eileen Goodwin, licensee of Plonkers Wine Bar and Bistro in Cumberland Street, said today: "It was just ridiculous. Our staff were getting hassled by tourists all the time.

"We had a dozen different ways of explaining to customers that we weren't allowed to serve them pints. But they would just stare back at us as if we were stupid.

"A lot of people thought it was us being snobbish because we are a wine bar," said Eileen. "But it is not like that at all.

"We lost a lot of people wanting to eat here, too, because they took offence and walked out.

"The law was imposed to keep out so-called lager louts and has been in force longer than I have been here, and that's nine years. I wouldn't mind, but we sell what they want in bottles, anyway.

"Wine bars in other cities have been allowed to sell pints for years. We weren't trying to be pushy, we just wanted to bring our bars out of the Middle Ages."

Andrew Flemming Dunn, licensee at Oscar's Wine Bar and Bistro in Little Stonegate for 12 years, added: "Originally there was a good reason for it. It was done to make sure people always had a choice in York between a traditional pub and a wine bar.

"But because pubs are now selling wines and bottled beers it means that they can be wine bars,too, but wine bars can't be pubs.

"Some of our customers are wine drinkers, some are beer drinkers and some are coffee drinkers. Now we can cater for them all."

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