CHRISTMAS celebrations could fall flat for North-East revellers after a fake champagne scam saw the real thing replaced with cheap plonk.

Trading standards officers are investigating crooks who are cashing in on the Christmas spirit by flooding the region with fake bubbly.

Anyone buying the bargain bubbly will be left feeling cheated, because the booze is nothing more than cheap French white wine.

A gang, believed to be operating from Teesside, is said to be steaming labels from bottles of the wine, worth only a few pounds.

Then, forged labels are added, bearing the names of famous champagne houses such as Moet et Chandon and Bollinger.

The labels are understood to have been produced using a laser printer, similar to those which come with home computers.

According to one person who was taken in by the scam, fake champagne is being sold for around £5 a bottle on the black market on Teesside and from the backs of vans at motorway service stations.

A genuine bottle of Bollinger Grande Annee 1990 costs £45.99 in the shops, while a bottle of Moet et Chandon Dom Perignon 1992 would set customers back £69.99.

Customs and trading standards officers faced similar problems with the sale of counterfeit champagne last year, when criminals tried to take advantage of millennium hype.

To cash in on millennium celebrations, more than 100,000 fake bottles flooded the North-East drinks market.

Last night, a trading standards spokeswoman said she was unaware of the current scam, but officers would be "keeping an eye open".

Meanwhile customers planning their Christmas shopping at a large supermarket chain are being warned to watch out for forged gift vouchers.

Asda, which has branches across the North-East, said that fake vouchers intended for use in its stores may be circulating in the region.

A spokeswoman said: "We have put up posters in our stores explaining to customers that if they didn't get a voucher from an Asda store, there is a possibility it may be forged. There is no problem with vouchers bought from Asda.