Nikki Elliott says she has been going to the Nuthouse, in Seaside, for many years but was recently told she would be banned if found dancing, cuddling or holding her girlfriend's hand.

Nikki said, "We were at the bar getting a drink and cuddling when we were told to separate and make our sexuality less obvious.

"We were told to act straight and we felt annoyed so we went outside for a cigarette and the landlord, who I know quite well, came out and said he had been getting complaints from people who said there were too many 'dykes' in the pub."

Nikki and her partner, Sarah Johnson, were upset by his comments and say they were discriminated against because heterosexual couples continued to show affection towards each other in the bar.

"Lots of our lesbian friends go down there and they have been happy to take our money for all this time," said Nikki.

"We left and went to the Hart which has a reputation as being a gay pub, but there are lots of straight girls in there too and they are not asked to act gay."

Owner of the Nuthouse, Colin Roll, said, "We have asked them not to snog or touch each other in the bar — the same as we tell straight people.

"We had a lesbian couple celebrate their marriage in the pub recently and we do not discriminate.

"We treat lesbians, gays and straights exactly the same."

Sarah's straight cousin, Leanne Hilton, was also in the Nuthouse on the night and approached the bar staff about the problem.

The 19-year-old student said, "I spoke to the lady who approached my cousin and her partner and explained I had done a two year course on discrimination and they could not do that just because they were gay.

"However, the woman referred me to the manager who started to get aggressive and said if we thought we could turn the pub into a gay bar we had another thing coming."

Leanne says she was sober and spoke calmly but the manager was unwilling to listen and later banned her from the premises.

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