Cult football blogger Bootlegger has described Wetherspoons in Harrogate as being 'like a posh Monaco hotel'

Welsh football blogger Bootlegger described the Winter Gardens branch of the pub chain as 'like a posh Monaco hotel' in a post which has been liked more than 6,000 times on Twitter.

The non-League football fan was in Harrogate to watch a Harrogate Town match when he decided to pop into the Winter Gardens for some refreshment.

"Jesus wept, that Wetherspoons in Harrogate is like some sort of posh hotel in Monaco. No sign of the obligatory Vietnam war veteran with no legs, all of the regulars were inside drinking pinot noir and not outside smoking like they usually do," he later posted.

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Bootlegger - who describes himself as a 'Welsh jobless alcoholic' - is a cult figure on social media with a huge fanbase among football supporters. His self-deprecating posts are widely shared by his 243,000 followers. His real name is Karl Phillips.

He is also a successful Youtuber who made his name sharing videos of his booze-fuelled trips to watch Wrexham AFC matches.

The 45-year-old did, however, complete Sober October for charity last autumn, and raised £7,000.

It's no surprise that Bootlegger was impressed by the architecture and atmosphere on offer at the Winter Gardens.

The building was once part of the Royal Baths complex, which attracted well-heeled patrons keen to 'take the waters' to improve their health during Harrogate's heyday as a spa town.

They opened in 1897, and visitors could relax and stroll inside the indoor gardens in any weathers. A pianist would play and sometimes an orchestra. There was free admission for bathers.

The gardens closed in 1969.

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Since Wetherspoons bought the building, it's regularly been included in lists of the company's most unusual premises.