Trading standards bosses in Preston are cracking down on counterfeit cigarettes.

Officials say a large number of fakes are flooding the UK market and more than half the illegal cigarettes that are seized by trading standards officers are counterfeit.

Imitations of well-known brands of cigarettes and rolling tobacco are not regulated and imported in almost identical packaging which can be almost undetectable to the smoker.

Fake cigarettes can have up to three times the legal limit of tar and nicotine found in genuine cigarettes, as well as many unknown substances including arsenic.

Trading standards will be issuing leaflets to warn shopkeepers and smokers of the hazards of buying counterfeit cigarettes.

Officer Jim Potts said: “Anyone buying these cigarettes may think they are just getting a bargain on the black market, but they could be smoking anything.

“There are many known health risks associated with smoking and it is a heavily regulated industry but people are taking unmeasurable risks in smoking fakes.”

Most illegal cigarettes are sold through word of mouth at markets and car boot sales or in pubs.