Fears that Cumbria could be targeted by booze "smugglers"

That is the stark warning from experts who predict a flood of alcohol bargain hunters coming across the border following Scotland’s looming switch to a 50p minimum price for every unit of alcohol.

The policy is likely to be brought in next year.

It will see many beers, lagers, ciders and spirits being sold in Carlisle supermarkets and off-licences for around half the price they will be on sale for in Scotland.

Many health experts have welcomed the Scottish policy, insisting that it will save many lives in the long term.

Scottish drinkers will be able to save a small fortune by travelling to Carlisle from places such as Annan, Gretna, and Dumfries.

Some may even be tempted to resell the alcohol for a profit north of the border.

“I’m certainly expecting a few more Scottish customers,” said Jude Cheyne, who manages the Bargain Booze off-licence on Scotland Road, Carlisle.

“If you’re just over the border, and it’s only a few miles to drive, why wouldn’t you buy it here? But I don’t think the policy will help the people it’s meant to help because they’ll get alcohol anyway.”

Paul Brown, owner of Longtown’s Graham Arms Hotel, said: “The supermarkets can sell Fosters lager cheaper than I can buy it from Heineken and that’s turning us into a nation of secret drinkers.

“It’s absolutely guaranteed that people will come down here from Scotland and buy big quantities of alcohol to then sell back in Scotland. We’ll be back to the old days of smuggling.

“A bottle of White Lighting costing £3.50 here would cost £7 in Scotland. Minimum pricing should be brought in across the country because alcohol is just too cheap in the supermarkets. You can buy it more cheaply in supermarkets than bottled water.”

Professor John Ashton, who was Cumbria’s director of public health for many years, said the whole of the UK should follow Scotland’s example. “They’ll come down from places like Gretna, Annan, and Dumfries, and stock up on cheaper alcohol from the supermarkets. It will be just like the Dover ferry.

"Cumbria’s MPs need to put pressure on the Government to synchronise the policy with Scotland.”

Carlisle MP John Stevenson said: “The honest answer is that I don’t know what will happen. But sometimes there are unintended consequences: clearly, there will be an attraction to come from Scotland to Asda, Morrisons, or Tesco in Carlisle to buy alcohol and then transport it north.

"The important thing is for people to drink responsibly. We should wait to see the consequences of the policy in Scotland and if there is a health benefit there then it would be something that the rest of the country could consider.”

Judges in the Supreme Court gave their backing to the controversial measure in what Scottish ministers said was an “historic and far-reaching judgment”.

Seven justices at the Supreme Court – the UK’s highest court – dismissed a legal challenge to the minimum pricing proposal brought by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA). That means that the Scottish Government is now free to implement the policy more than five years after MSPs approved it.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the ruling.

She said: “This has been a long road – and no doubt the policy will continue to have its critics – but it is a bold and necessary move to improve public health.”

The SWA had brought a legal challenge to the legislation after it was passed, taking the case to the highest court in Scotland and the European Court of Justice, before it ended up at the UK’s highest court.

During a hearing in July, the judges heard argument from the organisation that minimum unit pricing (MUP) is ‘’disproportionate’’ and illegal under European law.

The SWA said there were better ways to achieve the Scottish Government’s proposed 50p per unit minimum pricing plan. But the Supreme Court unanimously ruled there was no breach of European Union law.