DIY giant B&Q has been criticised by a smaller rival after a worker was ordered to stop leafleting outside its new York store.

But the company hit back, saying it stopped a man distributing promotional leaflets for York Paints and Wall Coverings near its Hull Road warehouse because he was causing traffic problems.

Louise Pickersgill, a director of the smaller shop on the Osbaldwick Industrial Estate, said its employee had leaflets taken away and was threatened with the police, adding he had quit his job because of what happened on Saturday.

She said they sent him to a central reservation at the vehicular entrance to the warehouse, which she claimed was a public footpath.

But the employee, who wanted to be known only as Matthew, said he was approached by a man who said he was a store manager. He told him he should not be there and took his leaflets.

He returned to the shop but was told by its manager Gary Pickersgill to go leafleting again. Then a man he believed was a security guard told him the police would come and arrest him if he did not move.

So he did, and was sent back again, this time without incident.

But he had decided to quit. "It's not very nice getting threatened with being arrested like that, it makes you feel like a bad person and I'm just doing my job."

Mr Pickersgill said he went to see the manager but was told he was busy.

Mrs Pickersgill said: "They just don't like healthy competition, and, compared to them, we are very small. It's like a bullying tactic."

She added: "You wouldn't believe a company the size of B & Q would do something like that - it's laughable, isn't it?"

But B & Q spokeswoman Lorian Coutts said the other company put leaflets under windscreens in their car park on opening day, drawing complaints from customers.

Despite B & Q raising concerns with York Paints' managing director, the weekend leafleting took place.

"Apart from using our store to advertise a competitor, the main point is that this person was holding up the traffic going into and coming out of the store.

"Once again we received complaints of hold-ups from customers who were phoning into the store while they were queuing."

She said the reservation was partly owned by B&Q, which was responsible for traffic management there.

"We are absolutely insistent that we dealt with the person recruited to do this job politely and refute any point that we were aggressive or indeed using our position of being a large retailer to be competitive against a smaller outlet. It is simply not the case," she said.

Mrs Pickersgill denied that Matthew had caused any hold-ups around the B&Q entrance, saying she had checked herself and he was approaching people in cars that were having to queue and wait.

She said the incident on the warehouse opening day involved someone who was paid to distribute leaflets, but had not been told to do it in the B & Q car park, and that had since been sorted out.