Could your Christmas booze kill you?

Six deathly cocktails made with counterfeit booze have been created by Lincolnshire Trading Standards in a bid to remind Christmas revellers to know what’s in their drink.

Made with fake alcohol containing potentially harmful substances, including chemicals found in cleaning fluid, nail polish remover, paint stripper, petrol, drain cleaner and antifreeze – these cocktails contain chemicals all discovered in counterfeit booze being sold in Lincolnshire.

Dan Brown, senior trading standards officer, said: “Although Lincolnshire Trading Standards is proactively raiding and seizing counterfeit booze from the shelves of off-licences and shops across the county, we are reminding consumers when buying alcohol this Christmas to stop and think. Is the product genuine?

“Our ten cocktails are made with a nasty mix of ingredients which are commonly used as substitutes for ethanol (alcohol), such as methanol and isopropanol.

“These chemicals are potentially very dangerous and whether you drink them shaken or stirred could have a huge impact on your body. Symptoms could include vomiting, permanent blindness, kidney or liver problems and could, in extreme circumstances, even lead to a coma.

“Our message is clear, if you see counterfeit alcohol – don’t drink it. Report it. Call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.”