Drunk women have forced Scottish barmen to stop wearing kilts, as they can't keep their hands off their nether regions.

Staff at Hootananny in Inverness have taken drastic action and gone back to wearing trousers to keep randy punters at bay.

"It may seem funny but it is serious, too – the women are sticking their hands up their kilts," owner Kit Fraser told the Inverness Courier.

"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.

"We fellows are very, very aware of sexism. I think the women need to catch up."

Iain Howie, the pub's assistant manager, said it usually happened at the weekends when large groups of women would "circle around" staff.

He said: "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."

Inverness area manager Ramsay McGhee, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said no employee should be a victim of sexual harassment.

"It seems these guys have found a pragmatic and common sense solution to an irritating problem.

"It is a shame, wearing the kilt in a place like Hootananny adds to the whole character and atmosphere."