A FORMER Kendal landlord has been fined for selling vodka labelled as Smirnoff when it was not produced by the famous brand.

Anthony Greenwood, 45, pleaded guilty to selling food not of the nature demanded by the purchaser while he ran The Olde Fleece Inn in Kendal, and was ordered to pay £500.

The incorrectly labelled drink was discovered when it was tested by Cumbria Trading Standards officers who attended the pub on June 16 last year and tested a number of spirit bottles.

Although many different drinks were tested, only the Smirnoff bottle proved to have incorrectly-labelled product inside it.

Greenwood, who now runs The Bull’s Head in Milnthorpe, claimed that he had ‘no idea’ how the wrong drink was in the Smirnoff bottle.

He originally claimed that a member of staff had been taking the vodka and re-filling the bottle with water, however tests proved that the drink in question had not been diluted.

Representing Greenwood, solicitor Darren Halstead said: “We are never going to know exactly what was in that bottle, and the defendant maintains that he does not know how this occurred.

“However, if the defendant was trying to deal with a difficult financial situation or bolster profitability from selling incorrectly labelled drink, it is likely he would have changed more than one bottle. The Smirnoff was the only adulterated bottle from more than 20 optics.”

Mr Halstead said that Greenwood had sacked a member of staff following being questioned by police, but could not be sure that that person was definitely involved.

The court also heard that since taking over The Bull’s Head, Greenwood only employs trusted family members and has taken more management courses so he can ‘run a tighter ship’.

Chairman of the bench Stephen Baker ordered Greenwood to pay a fine of £500 as well as paying £1,648 costs to cover the expense of the investigation and testing of the suspected drinks.

Greenwood must also pay a £50 victim surcharge.