TRADING Standards chiefs are warning Lancashire customers not to get conned over the internet by trying to buy drugs claiming to combat pandemic flu.

The alert comes after a Lancashire man paid more than £170 for 30 capsules of Tamiflu', ordered from an American online pharmacy.

The drugs were dispatched from China, and appear to be fake.

Jim Potts, Chief Trading Standards officer, said: "There is currently a massive black market in fake, and stolen, versions of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, which is being fuelled by fears of a pandemic flu outbreak.

"Criminals are making millions out of exploiting people's fears over pandemic flu by offering counterfeit drugs claiming to be Tamiflu over the internet."