TWO men were arrested after kitchen staff fought and grappled over a knife in a York restaurant.

Police were called to Lal Quila restaurant in Bishopthorpe Road at about 10.20pm on Tuesday, after a heated argument between two men who worked in the kitchen.

Humayun Kabir, manager of the restaurant, said the fight lasted "probably two minutes at the most", and at no time presented a danger to customers.

Mr Kabir said: "It was a minor incident in the restaurant.

"One of the staff actually lost his mind over a very personal argument. It was just between two staff, not chefs, but a cook and a person who does the washing up, a kitchen porter. A member of staff came over and separated them and police were called but it was all over before they arrived."

Mr Kabir said the only reason one of the men was holding a knife during the brawl was because it started as he was working with the blade.

He said: "He uses a knife to do his job, but it was nothing to do with stabbing each other or anything like that. When they were wrestling each other physically, I think he was pushing, and I think his hand went on the tip of the knife. He wasn't badly hurt.

"The one who was most aggressive was part time and only came from Leeds for that night and the previous night. He wasn't a regular member of staff."

A police spokeswoman said officers were called to "reports of an altercation" at the restaurant, and the men were taken into custody.

She said: "Two men were arrested. One, aged 21 from Leeds, was arrested on suspicion of affray and wounding and a 39 year-old man from York was arrested on suspicion of affray. The 39-year-old man sustained superficial cuts to his hands during the incident."

Both men have since been released on police bail.