YORK is the party capital of the country - and that's official.

The centre of the historic city has 27 pubs, bars and clubs per square mile - far more than anywhere else in the country, according to a new survey.

It leaves other, bigger cities way behind - with second-placed Southampton having 14 drinking places per mile, third placed Bristol 13, and Liverpool, in fourth, with only four. Nightspots in York welcomed the survey, saying its thriving scene was mainly due to the number of visitors.

Chris Barrow, deputy manager at Toffs nightclub, said: "It is certainly good news. York is well known as a place to come for the races, stag and hen dos, and tourists make up most of our trade. There are also 10,000 students in the city, and they bring their friends from other universities to come and drink in York."

Kerry Garvey, assistant manager at Flares in Tanner Row, said: "York does have a lot of bars, but we are always busy so there must be enough customers to go round. People come here because it is a historic city with a lot of attractions and then go out at night."

Linda Roberts, assistant manager at Reflex in George Hudson Street, said: "A lot of people come here just to go out as York has made a name for itself as an attractive, clean place to visit."

The research, carried out by internet service Windows Live Local, revealed there were enough licensed premises in York to visit a new one each week for six years.

York council's licensing manager, John Lacy, said the tourist economy was very important, and the city was the most visited place outside London. But the licensing authority and the police do have concerns in relation to the number of premises and the impact on the community," he said. "This is why we have a special policy to limit the number of bars in the Micklegate area. The city has more of a caf bar culture, and some great restaurants, so our licensed premises are not all stand-up drinking places."

Updated: 08:25 Saturday, May 27, 2006