Ninety bottles of counterfeit whisky seized from off-licences across Coventry are being sampled by trading standards officers in the city.

They were seized after a complaint from a resident about the Claymore whisky they bought.

Four other bottles of the dodgy booze were found by officers, and the owner admitted that he had bought them from a different supplier.

Seventy other off-licences across the city were visited and more than 90 bottles were confiscated from five stores.

Denise Marshall, of JBB (Greater Europe), manufactures of the real Claymore whisky, warned customers not to be taken in by the dud liquor.

She said:

“Consumers will realise that this counterfeit product is not of the high quality of authentic Claymore a it does not have a full-bodied Scotch whisky aroma and is lighter to the taste.

”The offending bottles can be identified by the code (500/422) which appears THREE times on the bottle cap. Genuine Claymore carries the code only once.”

Dave Burke, trading standards manager, added:

“We are anxious that pubs, clubs and restaurants check their stock to make sure they too haven’t been caught out by these counterfeiters.”