TWO workers from the disgraced school tests firm ETS were arrested after a row over their hotel bill.

Sisters Sakinah and Jenan Taifa were part of an army of temp workers hired by ETS to wade through piles of overdue primary school SATS tests.

The US education firm set up `marking factories' at Manchester Airport's Hilton Hotel and other locations. But during their overnight stay, the sisters spent £270 on alcohol and phone calls.

They claim they thought the company would foot the bill - which ETS deny. Police were called and the women were held in a cell for eight hours.

The girls, who worked as data inputters, did round-the-clock shifts to help clear the backlog. The company paid their food bill and overnight accommodation.

Sakinah, 20, an office worker, said: "When we went to dinner, we were told we could have anything under the amount of £27.50, but if we went over, the staff would just say `oh, your company is paying for it'.

"When we were leaving, they told us we owed £270. We didn't have the money and our line manager said she wasn't paying for it. We tried to offer our bank details and said that we would be due to work another shift again, but they weren't happy about it and the police were called."

"The police spent some time there and could understand our situation, but we still ended up getting arrested."

The incident happened on Saturday, July 19. The girls were taken to a police station and spent eight hours in a cell before being released on bail.

The sisters had been recruited through a temping agency in Stockport.

The charges were for the mini-bar and phone calls but the workers say managers had told them additional costs would be covered and claim that on previous occasions these costs had been met.

Jenan, 19, a philosophy student at Manchester University, had worked at the site for one month and was so successful she was promoted to a supervisory role.

Her sister said they had taken `no more than four drinks from the room' and had spent `less than an hour on the phone'.

She said: "We had worked so hard for ETS and we begged our line manager to pay the bill for us and dock our wages, but they refused to do it."

Despite the dispute, the sisters said that ETS line managers asked the girls to report for work the next day, but they were prevented from doing this when they were banned from the premises by hotel managers. They are currently seeking legal advice.

Kelly Southcott, spokeswoman for Education Testing Services, said that the company would not pay for alcohol or other expenses not detailed in employees' contracts. And she said the employees would have been aware that the company would not pay for purchases made from the mini-bar.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: . "Officers arrested two women, aged 20 and 25 on suspicion of theft.

"The 25-year-old woman was also arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. Both have been bailed pending further inquiries."