Stoke-on-Trent shop sold bottles of counterfeit vodka
A Staffordshire shop has had its alcohol licence suspended after staff sold bottles of illegal vodka.
Trading Standards officers found 21 bottles of the counterfeit spirit at Polski Sklep, Waterloo Road in Stoke-on-Trent, last November.
Tests revealed four of them, containing a counterfeit product called Arctic Ice, had levels of methanol, 18 times above the safe and legal limit.
The city council has barred the store from selling alcohol for two months.
Licensing sub-committee members said their decision was based on "the serious impact that the sale of illicit and illegal alcohol can have on the consumer and to provide a deterrent against such acts being repeated".
Methanol is commonly used in anti-freeze, solvents and cleaning fluids. However, the Food Standards Agency said it can cause serious harm to people's health if consumed in large amounts.
Polski Sklep has 21-days period in which it can appeal to magistrates against the decision.