A bouncer at a New York nightclub has been stabbed after trying to enforce the city's new ban on smoking in bars.

The incident, at the Guernica club in Manhattan's Lower East Side, occurred as the 32-year old door guard told two men to extinguish their cigarettes.

He was stabbed in the stomach during a subsequent argument and died later in hospital. The two men were arrested.

New York's ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, introduced by non-smoking mayor, Michael Bloomberg came into effect at the beginning of April and was designed to protect workers in the industry from the effects of passive smoking.

The ban, which was opposed by many club owners, can result in fines for individuals with the possibility of offending premises being closed down. Details: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk and type 'Smoking' into the news search engine