LANCASHIRE'S Trading Standards chiefs have discovered it is "pure luck" whether holidaymakers can get discounts on advertised package prices featured in travel brochures.

While one holiday in Mallorca could be bought for £935.46 less than the brochure price from one travel agent in the county, another was offering it for £5 more.

The county's value-for-money watchdogs found the holiday discrepancy when they took part in a national survey by the Trading Standards Institute, which has proved that travel brochure prices for holidays are meaningless.

The TSI's lead officer for the holiday and travel industry, Bruce Treloar, said: "In Lancashire, Trading Standards professionals found it was pure luck if consumers got a better deal than the advertised £2,316 brochure price.

"One agent told them they would have to pay £5 more for the holiday -- but another agent was offering a massive £930-plus discount."

The TSI launched its probe after Durham Trading Standards discovered a variation of £1,260 between the highest and lowest prices available for one package holiday.

The survey into the highs and lows of brochure holiday prices confirmed huge discrepancies across the country.

The TSI says this confirms that some tour operators are still basing their package holiday pricing on supply and demand, which is against the law.

Brochure prices are often very different to the deals available through travel agents -- "most of the time making them not worth the glossy paper they're written on," said Mr Treloar.

The TSI is now taking holiday operators to task, urging them to be clear in their brochure pricing, and advising consumers to shop around and complain when they find discrepancies.

Twenty seven local authority Trading Standards Services in England and Scotland took part in the survey, visiting travel agents to find out what deals they could offer and checking the accuracy of brochure prices.