MOTORISTS heading abroad for a holiday are being warned by the AA that small bottles of strong European beer could land them in drink-driving trouble overseas.

The AA says that many European beers are served in small 25 or 33cl bottles with a 50 per cent higher alcoholic content than standard British beers.

Some, like Belgian brews with an alcoholic content of nine to 11 per cent, are nearly as strong as wine. If drivers are served these in a glass, they will have little or no warning of their strength.

To compound the problem, drink-drive limits in most European countries are lower than the UK limit of 0.08 per cent (80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood). In Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain the limit is 0.05 per cent.

Punishments for drink-driving differ across Europe, too.

The AA says that the best advice for motorists is to stick to soft drinks if they are driving, whichever country they are in.

More details on drink-driving laws are available at www.theaa.com.