A PHANTOM stink bomber is causing havoc in pubs and bars at one of Southampton's busiest night-spots.

A putrid "raw sewage" smell has left revellers gagging for fresh air and pouring out on to the streets around Bedford Place during evenings out.

And the prankster's room-emptying concoction has left some landlords counting the cost after being targeted repeatedly on Friday and Saturday nights.

Spencer Harrison who owns the Cricketers on Carlton Place said the assailant chooses peak trading times to strike - but he has never been able to single out the mystery bomber.

He said: "It's like a sulphurous, sickening, eggy smell.

"Everybody starts to look at each other and then they twig that it's a stink bomb and start flooding out of the door. The smell hangs around for ages afterwards. It just seems to happen randomly and you never know when it's going to come next.

"Obviously when it does go off, everybody leaves and it costs a lot in lost revenue. We have never found a capsule but they are so small that someone can drop them on the floor, crush them and then they virtually disintegrate."

The foul smell was most recently reported last week at The Wine Bar on Bedford Place.

Staff said customers either "cleared off" or flocked to the other end of the building to avoid the stench.

Meanwhile, nearby pub Bedfords has also been subjected to a number of pranks throughout the summer.

Landlord Garry Brill said: "If people want to be silly and do this kind of thing then there's no real way of stopping them. It won't boost your sales by any means and I'm sure people have left the pub when it has happened. I could not tell you who it is, or how they do it."

Similar incidents have been reported at Mono Bar, the Orange rooms and the student bar at Avondale House.