BOOTLEGGERS from East Lancashire desperate to cash in on Christmas are being held up by rival gangs after they dock in Dover loaded with cheap goods. Customs and Excise officials say organised trips by smugglers from this area to the continent have become the target of Kentish bandits who watch for vans from the famous white cliffs. They tip off their henchmen on the ground, who grab the booty - including alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes - intended for sale in this area to workmates, friends and families.

The situation has become so dangerous some organised smugglers - who can cross the channel several times in one day - have begun leaving minders with their vehicles.

A spokeswoman for Blackburn's Customs and Excise office said: "We have heard about this.

The people who tend to be targeted are organised gangs who have travelled down from the North West to stock up on booze.

"It is against the law and is ridiculously dangerous by all accounts."

Blackburn has become a hot-spot for bootleg goods ever since restrictions on the amount that could be purchased abroad were lifted.

It is estimated to have cost pubs, clubs and breweries millions of pounds in lost revenue. In the last 12 months, Customs and Excise officers based in Blackburn dealt with 51 bootlegging cases amounting to a staggering £395,000 worth of goods.

About £770 million is estimated to have been lost in revenue nationally since 1993 because of bootleggers.

Lee LeClercq, of the North West Brewers and Licensed Retailers Association said: "It is an ironic situation, but bootlegging will always be a problem because beer duty in this country is much higher than in France, so pubs will lose out.

"We believe there 260 vans a week pouring into the North West, each containing 1500 pints, and we are sure this has contributed towards a rise in under-age drinking."

Paul Agnew, spokesman for the Blackburn-based Thwaites brewery, added: "We have always maintained that one of the evils of the wide price difference between English and foreign beer would be that the criminal element would get involved."

A spokesman for Kent police said four people had been shot at in Dover in recent smuggling-related incidents.

He added: "Northerners are unable to report their losses because they were planning to break the law themselves. It has caused a wry smile among some policemen but it is very serious."

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