Racegoers could be smuggling alcohol into the Grand National Festival in fake perfume bottles and hip flasks - as Google searches for them rise by up to 46.5 per cent this week in Liverpool, new data claims. This year and estimated 600 Merseyside Police officers, with additional racecourse security, are working to keep punters safe with searches as you enter and even drug amnesty bins at the gates.

But research by https://www.tipmantips.com/subscriptions-sports-betting-tips/, the UK’s largest football and horse racing betting tip subscription service, analysed Google search data to see how punters try to smuggle alcohol in. It revealed Liverpool-based punters’ Internet searches for smuggling in alcohol into the Grand National Festival rise by as much as 46.5 per cent this week with 'hip flasks' by far the most Googled smuggling item.

From 2021-24 in Liverpool, the most Googled item - alongside key words 'Aintree' and 'alcohol smuggling' - were 'Hip flasks' with 860 searches.

Other popular Googled terms were 'drink pouches' with 100 searches, 'fake perfume bottles' (90), and 'fake aftershave bottles (60 searches).

Some more search terms included ‘Fake Sun Cream Bottles’, ‘Fake Binoculars’, and ‘Adult Capri Suns’.

Last year, the number of alcohol-smuggling-related searches in Liverpool rose by 14.1 per cent between the January-February period and the March-April period.

While in 2023, the number of alcohol-smuggling-related searches rose by a hefty 46.5 per cent in the same period. The figure from 2022 showed a 21.4 per cent increase in searches, supporting the frequency of this trend.

March 2024 was a record-breaking month for alcohol-smuggling searches in Liverpool, with a total of 380 searches from the city, as locals planned for April’s Aintree Festival.

Aintree Racecourses’ terms and conditions state that food and drink - including alcoholic beverages - cannot be brought onto the racecourse.

However, there are exceptions with sealed soft drinks, with the terms and conditions stating: ‘All bottles/cartons, including soft drinks, where allowed, must be sealed on entry to the premises."

Connor Boyles, a 27-year-old former security worker at large UK festival, stadium, and arena events, told Tipman Tips the various original ways in which punters have tried to sneak booze past security.

He said: "If non-alcoholic drinks are allowed at the event, punters have used this to their advantage to discreetly bring in alcohol.

"The bottles tend to be transparent, containing a fizzy drink like Sprite, which resembles vodka, with some lemonade still in it to make the liquid look more like the original drink and maintain the pressure. Shaking the bottle also makes it look more authentic.

"Punters are able to reseal these bottles by carefully heating the unopened cap with boiling water to prevent breaking the seal.

"Once the seal is intact, the bottle can be refilled with a spirit like vodka that could be mistaken for lemonade or water. After filling the bottle, the cap is reheated and resealed.

"If food is allowed, then punters have also been known to hide alcohol inside snacks such as large bags of crisps, where it is hard to detect.

"The ones who have been caught out are those who have done a bad job of resealing the seam of the bag, which tends to be done using glue or something hot like a hair straightener or an iron.

"Some punters have also been caught with alcoholic drinks duct taped to themselves during standard entry searches."