Now Sunderland nightclub Liquid Diva is one of the first in the country to start covering up bad smells by pumping the scent of the sea and cut grass to through the air conditioning.

Their night club chain, Luminar, conducted a poll of more than 3,000 adults to find out which fragrance was the nation's favourite.

Cut grass, fresh coffee, sea breeze and fresh flowers came out on top and Luminar used the results to make its own scent, Hydro-Spa.

Liquid Diva's general manager, Spenser Manuel, said: "The introduction of Hydro-Spa will mean we offer a multi-sensoral clubbing experience.

"We already provide a great sound and sight experience but now we are going to add sexy smells.

"The introduction of this product will distinguish us from our competitors and guarantee our customers will enjoy a great night out in a great smelling environment."

The club is also considering theme smells for different occasions like chocolate and roses for Valentine's night, and sunscreen for Ibiza nights.

Pubs have also noticed something in the air and Mitchells and Butlers , which manages the Grange Hotel and the Millers Inn, in Newcastle Road, Sunderland, has experimented with solutions to the smells.

The chain has been blowing the scent of the sea into four of its suburban pubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow where the smoking ban was introduced more than 12 months ago.

The company considered using the smell of leather to suggest luxury and indulgence, or cut grass, which has a clean and domestic smell, but decided against the system.

A spokesman said: "The trial will shortly conclude and we will not be installing aroma systems in our pubs.

"We have deep-cleaned our venues affected by the smoking ban by cleaning the curtains, carpets, furniture and upholstery so all the residual odours have been removed.

"We do not feel we would benefit from using the systems, but we can see they could be a good idea in nightclubs which have a very different set-up."