New Year partygoers have been warned that thousands of bottles of fake vodka containing chemicals that could prove deadly have been discovered on sale across Britain.
High Street retailers throughout the country are being alerted to the proliferation of bogus alcohol being offered at bargain prices over the festive period.
The new warning follows the seizure by Trading Standards officers of 166 bottles of counterfeit vodka from three Luton shops.
Meanwhile, a raid on an illicit factory in Derbyshire found 20,000 empty bottles, filling equipment and empty cans of anti-freeze. Fake bottles of Smirnoff found to contain a chemical used in anti-freeze were also seized in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
In the Luton case, officers removed vodka branded “Glen’s” and “Kommissar” from shop shelves after noticing the label on the bottle said “botteled” rather than “bottled”. The Kommissar was found to have fake duty-paid labels.
Three samples were discovered to contain dangerously-high levels of isopropanol, commonly used as an industrial solvent, and butanol, which is used in paint remover.
Councillor Aslam Khan, portfolio holder for public health, told Off Licence News: “Drinking these chemicals could cause serious illness or even death in extreme cases. “Many unsuspecting consumers may think they are buying cheap duty-free alcohol, when they are actually buying fake and dangerous products.”