Almost half the measures of spirits being sold in pubs, restaurants and hotels in Scotland are short, an investigation by trading standards officers has found.

Almost half the measures of spirits being sold in pubs, restaurants and hotels in Scotland are short, an investigation by trading standards officers has found.

In its annual "Fair Measure Fortnight", the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (Scotss) found that 46% of drinks such as whisky, gin, rum or vodka contained less than the stated amount, with a number of premises across the country being reported to the procurator-fiscal.

Licensees providing inaccurate measures face fines up to £5000 under the Weights and Measures Act 1985.

Officers from 20 local authorities assessed 217 licensed premises across the country over August and September, testing 415 spirit samples to check the accuracy of measures of spirits. Of those checked only 225 met the correct amount of 25ml or 35ml, while 190 contained less than the legal spirit measure sold.

The spread of results ranged from a short measure of 34% to the largest-over measure of 69%.

Scotss said the pattern of short measures was consistent throughout the country, with no real differences between urban or rural areas.

The body said that in almost all cases of failure the inaccurate measures were due to staff error and not a deliberate attempt to defraud the customer or inaccurate equipment.

However, among the worst offenders were licensees in North Lanarkshire and Fife, where over 60% of the samples came up short, and Stirling and Clackmannanshire, where 54% were under.

Glasgow was not tested, but in the capital just under three-quarters of measures were correct while in South Ayrshire it was half.

In Shetland and Angus no measures tested were short.

In most cases, publicans have been issued with guidance on how to ensure correct measures are dispensed but in addition to the reports to the fiscal 51 official warnings were given.

David Thomson, chairman of Scotss, said: "This is a disappointing outcome for the third year running and the failure rate of 46% is almost identical to previous results.

"This is not about encouraging irresponsible drinking but on the one hand we have the public paying for more than they receive and on the other anyone counting their units of alcohol consumption needs to have confidence in accurate measures.

"The extremes of measures at both ends of the spectrum show that we need to work with the licensed trade to train staff to provide accurate measures to consumers."

However, according to trading standards officers, overly large measures were also a problem.

Neil Chalmers, a trading standards officer who carried out checks in the central Scotland area, said: "One licensed premise in the Stirling area was found to be supplying 60% more than expected.

"The police and health authorities in particular are urging people to drink responsibly and to know their limits. This can be very difficult if the amount of alcohol being supplied in pubs varies enormously each time.

"The extremes of measures at both ends of the spectrum show that more work needs to be done by the licensed trade to ensure that all staff are trained to provide more accurate measures. Scottish consumers need to have confidence in the accuracy of the measures supplied in licensed premises, for all types of alcohol."

Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said: "The figures are very disappointing and there is no getting away from that. I do believe that pubs are not trying to cheat their customers but it is really not good enough.

"The law is quite clear on measures. It is up to publicans to make sure that their staff are trained, and measures is a fundamental part of training. Customers should get what they pay for and this is something that we take very seriously."