New Year revellers warned about fake vodka

Revellers looking to buy cheap alcohol to see in the New Year have been warned about the dangers of counterfeit vodka.

The genuine article: but this year's revellers are being warned to be on their guard against counterfeit alcohol Photo: Alamy

10:45AM GMT 31 Dec 2011

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Council trading standard teams have recently seized fake vodka with high levels of methanol, which is also used to make anti-freeze and can lead to blindness. Industrial solvents have also been found in the bottles.

One shopkeeper was fined £16,000 after Surrey County Council seized bottles of fake Glen's Vodka, which was found to contain 235 times more methanol than the legal limit allowed.

Signs that a bottle of vodka may be counterfeit include:

* The liquid inside smelling of nail varnish;

* Wonky labels with poor quality print and spelling mistakes;