Shoppers snap up last-minute deals

BY PAUL DRURY alcohol. One shopper at Asda in Parkhead, Glasgow, said: “I was reaching for my normal bottle of white wine when the assistant told me to put it back.

“He pointed me in the direction of the Koru sauvignon blanc, which had been reduced from £4.50 to just £2.50. Needless to say, I bought a few.”

The Scottish Government last year won a long-running battle with the Scotch Whisky Association to use pricing to help cut Scotland’s love of the booze.

Research suggests increasing the cost will result in 392 fewer alcohol-related deaths and more than 8000 fewer alcohol-related hospital admissions.

The changes will not affect some drinks like alcopops and Buckfast Tonic Wine. But wines and spirits face substantial hikes.

Discount retailers Lidl have been selling 70cl bottles of Rachmaninoff triple distilled Vodka for £9.99. It contains 26 units of alcohol, meaning it can no longer be legally sold in Scotland for less than £13.

Meanwhile, retailers in England are gearing up for an increase Scots stocking up on lower priced booze south of the Border. Bargain Booze have just opened their fifth branch in Carlisle.

Manageress Jude Cheyne, 38, explained: “There are a lot of people from Scotland who work in Carlisle, so we expect more of them to pop in on their way home. I mean, why wouldn’t you?”

Internet sales are another way around the legislation, as orders dispatched outside Scotland are not affected by minimum pricing.

A Scottish Government spokesman said cross-border trade and internet sales would be monitored by NHS officials to see what impact they have.