Fake vodka containing anti-freeze ingredients that can cause blindness has been seized by trading standards officers in the run-up to Christmas.
Brands being faked and sold in small shops and off-licences for as little as £6 a bottle include Glen’s, Smirnoff, Arctic Ice, Red Admiral and Spar own-brand Imperial. One shopkeeper in Surrey was fined £16,000 for selling fake Glen’s which contained 235 times the legal limit of methanol, an ingredient in anti-freeze.
Poorly printed labels with spelling errors and drink that smells of nail varnish are some signs to look out for.