A group of barmen have stopped wearing kilts because they claim women wouldn’t stop groping them while they worked.

Staff at the Hootananny in Inverness wore the traditional Scottish tartan to give the venue even more of an authentic feel.

But they are complaining that female revellers are constantly lifting up the kilts to see if they were naked underneath.

Some claim they were even groped on their penis.

Iain Howie, the pub’s assistant manager, said the incidents mostly happened during busy weekends.

He told the Inverness Courier: ”You get large groups of drinking women circling around when you are collecting glasses and asking whether you are true Scotsman – and they find out for themselves.

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“The first few times it is funny. But when it is really busy and everyone has to work fast and hard, and your hands are full of glasses, you feel quite vulnerable.”

Hootananny owner Kit Fraser said the groping was “pure sexism”.

He added: “Can you imagine if I went into a restaurant and stuck my hand up a girl’s skirt?

“I would be taken to the police station and rightly so.

"I look after my customers but equally important are my staff.

“I am not forcing them to do something they don’t want to do.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said that staff “should have the right to work without fear of harassment”, adding: “It is important management in all working environments do what they can to ensure this happens.”

Pictures courtesy of Rex/Google