A City trader has racked up the world's biggest ever bar bill after splashing out on fine Champagne at a Liverpool nightspot.

Twenty-three-year-old financier Alex Hope spent £203,948 in the single round at the PlayGround nightclub at Liverpool’s Hilton Hotel.

More than half the bill was taken up by the £125,000 30-litre Midas bottle of Armand de Brignac, known as Ace of Spades.

This bottle, the most expensive in the world, had to be carried to the table and poured by members of staff, but not content with that Hope added another 40 75cl bottles of Ace of Spades.

"It caused a bit of a stir. We have some of the best Champagnes in the world, but nothing like that. Everyone was talking about it and wondering who on earth this guy could be," one member of staff said.

Mr Hope's bar bill beats the previous record set by US professional gambler Don Johnson, who spent £170,000 at the One For One nightclub in London last June.