In a move which would have Andy Capp staring into his pint in disbelief, pubs across Sussex are banning punters from wearing hats.

Drinkers in deerstalkers will be turned down. Fancy a few liveners in a fez? Forget it.

Publicans say a tasty titfer has become the hallmark of the troublemaker.

Burberry caps top the banned list but an increasing number of pubs are going for an all-out hat outlaw.

Freelance photographer Kelly Davis, 28, found out the hard way at Orange Square and then Bar Boo! in Haywards Heath.

She said: "I was out with a friend and we went into the first pub and they said I couldn't wear my cap so we just left straight away.

"In the second pub we had ordered our drinks when the woman behind the bar asked me to take my cap off. I told them to stick their drinks. I think it's pathetic."

The Argus sent reporter Huw Borland to Haywards Heath to confront the hat ban head on.

He tried his luck in the town's bars while wearing an assortment of headwear, from a trilby and bowler to a Cub Scout cap and Russian soldier's helmet.

It seemed, however, the fearsome dress codes were not so strictly adhered to on a wet Tuesday afternoon.

He said: "I was just an oddball running into pubs with silly hats on and the bar staff were simply politely trying to get me on my way as soon as possible. If wearing a hat in a pub is important to you, it seems it's best to go before dusk."

Andrew Peters, bar manager at Orange Square, defended his policy.

He said: "In the same way that we do not allow trainers on a Friday or Saturday, our dress code is smart casual and we do not consider baseball caps to be smart."

A poll by The Argus revealed many places in Brighton and Hove had similar policies.

The Prodigal in East Street and The Rock Bar do not allow any hats. Baseball caps are banned at Sumo in Middle Street and on Friday and Saturday nights at Saqqara on North Road. The Polar Bar, Western Road, and Evening Star, Surrey Street, leave it to the manager's discretion.

You can wear any cap or hat at the Fishbowl, East Street, or The Victory, Duke Street, as long as they are not made by Burberry, the hooligans' favourite.

Of the bars and pubs which responded to The Argus, only the Coach House, Middle Street, and King and Queen, Marlborough Place, allowed all kinds of headwear.

No-hat rules were supported by Roy Scam, chairman of the legal and licensing committee of the Sussex Society of Licensed Victuallers.

He believes landlords are under tremendous pressure to keep the peace in their premises and should not be criticised for their door policy.