Full Monty-style male strippers are invading a spa town already reeling from the introduction of controversial lap dancing sessions.

There was uproar late last year when a nightspot in Station Parade, Harrogate, announced it would be featuring lap dancers, locals protesting it was alien to the town's upmarket image.

Now a new row has broken out after a rival club has started male stripper sessions on ladies' nights.

Lilian Mina, chair of Harrogate Civic Society, said yesterday: "Whatever next? Our members have already expressed concern about this type of entertainment. We held a reception recently and people were wondering what on earth Harrogate was coming to."

Mrs Mina said she had no doubt that nightspots were providing entertainment to meet demands from hundreds of conference and exhibition delegates visiting the town, which five years ago fought off plans for a casino in the Royal Baths.

"If people are making money out of it, others will want to do the same and so it will spread," she said.

The society said that, because clubs have entertainment licences, little can be done to control what is provided for clubbers.

Meanwhile, at the newly established Applause nightclub, at the junction of Cheltenham Parade and Station Parade, male strippers have been booked on a monthly basis for some raunchy striptease sessions along the lines of Full Monty routines.

The civic society is convinced the majority of demand for the sexy shows will come from people outside Harrogate, a town more famous for its chinking tea cups, lush-lawned parks and wide open spaces than for sexy shows.