A British backpacker who survived the methanol poisoning at which of several people has spoken of her horror experience.

Bethany Clarke, from Orpington, was rushed to with after the harrowing ordeal. They were staying at the Nana Backpacker's Hostel in Vang Vieng in November when they, and several others, were offered free whisky and vodka shots which had been tainted with methanol.

Tragically Simone - a 28-year-old lawyer - died in the incident, along with 19-year-old Australians Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Sorensen, 21, from Denmark and American James Hutson, 57. Bethany told : “If it looked dodgy, I wouldn't have drunk it.

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“We went up to the bar and I watched him pour them out from a glass bottle with a vodka label on it. You just physically can't move. It's like you are more or less paralysed. You can still walk, but everything is much, much, much more difficult than it would be ordinarily, but yeah, mainly fatigue, nausea, I fainted.”

She said last year: “Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning."

The Foreign Office's website warns would-be travellers to the region of reports of drink and food spiking. It reads: "Be cautious about accepting drinks from strangers at bars, clubs, restaurants and parties."

It added of methanol poisoning: “There have been deaths and cases of serious illness caused by alcoholic drinks containing methanol. Methanol has been used in the manufacture of counterfeit replicas of well-known alcohol brands or illegal local spirits, like vodka.

“You should take care if offered, particularly for free, or when buying spirit-based drinks. If labels, smell or taste seem wrong then do not drink. Affected drinks may include local spirits, including local rice or palm liquor, spirit-based mixed drinks, such as cocktails, counterfeit brand-name bottled alcohol in shops or behind the bar

“Laos authorities have issued an order prohibiting the sale and consumption of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky due to concerns about them being a risk to health. You should avoid consuming these products.”