New booze cruise could kill pub trade in the North East

Related tags European union France

Licensees in the North East fear a new booze cruise - taking drinkers to France- could be devastating for trade.Drinkers will be able to board the...

Licensees in the North East fear a new booze cruise - taking drinkers to France- could be devastating for trade.

Drinkers will be able to board the overnight trip seven days a week and travel to France and Belgium where they can pick up cheap wine, beer and cigarettes and be back at home around 12 hours later.

Each traveller can bring back 30 bottles of wine and 216 cans of beer and lager.

But publicans are worried that this will lead to customers visiting their pubs less.

The Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Association's Tony Payne said: "This will affect pubs in the area and it is a big concern of mine."

"Duty rates should be cut. Think of what the Government is losing: money on alcohol, cigarettes and fuel."

Fred Swallow who runs the Fox in Thorner, near Leeds was also concerned. "This indirectly affects everybody," he said. "If people have a stock of alcohol at home then they are less likely to drink in the pub.

"All duty should be harmonised throughout the EU. Everybody would be happy and there wouldn't be any need for people to travel to France for cheap booze."

The cruise was launched last week by Newcastle-based company To Calais and Back. With a trip costing £45 per person, manager Brian Gray is confident that the venture will be a roaring success.

Estimates put the cost of alcohol smuggling in Britain at £750m and Europe has advised the UK to bring duty rates in line with other European countries.

The government, however, has maintained that harmonising duty rates will not reduce the amount of bootlegged alcohol entering the UK and has instead stepped up customs procedures at Channel ports, employing 170 extra officers and using new equipment to trap bootleggers.

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