Warning over bogus bubbly

Restaurants and pubs will see more fake Champagne pass their way as the millennium approaches, trading standards authorities have warned.

Numbers of seizures of counterfeit Champagne have shot up in the past few months, according to the Institute of Trading Standards. "They're always a bit higher at this time of year, but this is a lot higher than normal because of the millennium," said a spokesman.

One of the most common scams is for fraudsters to buy cheap perry and sell it as Champagne after changing the labels.

A restaurant owner in West Bromwich is to be interviewed by officials following the seizure of 16 bottles of fake Moët & Chandon from his restaurant.

The local authority was alerted by a group of businessmen who had been celebrating at the restaurant. The restaurateur has given no explanation as to how or why the bottles came into his possession.

Cheshire Council has also seized 40 bottles of fake Bollinger Champagne in the past two months. "A restaurant or hotel trying to cut costs might buy this and serve it," said Vanessa Griffiths, trading standards officer at Cheshire. "A lot of buyers think it's come in from a booze run to France or it's ‘off the back of a lorry'."

by Cathy Cooper

How to spot a fake bottle of Moët

• Bottle is shorter and lighter

• Circumference of magnum is smaller

• Genuine Moët foil around top is crimped; with the name "Moët" overprinted, counterfeit Moët is stuck on

• Poor quality printing and wrong size of print on black collarette