SHOCK figures today reveal the true extent of bootleg booze which the Government is still trying to pretend does not exist.

As pubs, clubs and brewing jobs go to the wall throughout the country - and more particularly in the brewing stronghold of East Lancashire - Tory heads remain firmly in the sand.

It is time for them to take notice of a new survey by the Brewers and Licensed Retailers' Association which shows the booze smugglers are costing every pub in East Lancashire £3,225 a year in lost sales as customers swill down gallons of cheap illegal imports from the continent.

Lancashire is among the top 10 destinations for beer-carrying vans making quick trips across the Channel, with an estimated 34 vans coming into the county each week. And as if that isn't enough, giant brewers Thwaites are in the bizarre position of exporting beer to France to see it come back via illegal means to be sold at rock-bottom prices on their own doorstep.

This crazy situation is costing vital jobs in our area. And yet it could be solved overnight with a hefty reduction on beer tax.

But of course, as Prime Minister John Major is already losing revenue on the pirate trade, he feels he cannot afford to make the 26p cut which would be needed.

He's backed himself into a corner and there is no easy way out.

If only he'd listened to the brewing industry earlier, before the trickle of cheap beer swelled to a tidal wave.

Brewers and retailers warn worse is still to come. The situation is not going to go away. So the sooner action is taken to rectify it, the better.

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