Draught beer and cider, wine, fortified wine, gin, rum, vodka and whisky that are not pre-packed can only be sold for consumption in licensed premises in the specified quantities that are prescribed by The Weights and Measures (Intoxicating Liquor) Order 1988.

Fraser Carlin, Head of Planning and Regulatory Services at South Lanarkshire Council, said: “Many customers of licensed premises will be familiar with the concept of prescribed measures, such as 125ml and/or 175ml for still wine and 25ml or 35ml for spirits like gin, rum, vodka and whisky.

“During this Fair Measure Initiative, our Trading Standards Officers are posing as customers and, so far, three out of ten licensed premises that they have visited have served short measure of spirits.

“This can make a big difference - in one case, a whisky measure was found to be 12.5% short, representing a financial loss to the customer of 49p just for that one drink.”

Whenever short measures found to have been served, Trading Standards Officers are taking appropriate enforcement action.

As part of the Fair Measure Initiative, which continues over the summer months, local licensed premises are invited to contact the team for free practical training on the correct use of verified thimble measures to ensure that a legal measure is served.

Any businesses interested in this training, or seeking further information on weights and measures, can contact the team by emailing business.enquiries@southlanarkshire.gov.uk.