The government has now commissioned pharmaceutical companies to convert tons of illegal alcohol that Brit tourists unwittingly drink in popular resorts into urgently needed antiseptic.

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The Sun Online can reveal that close to 200 tons of the confiscated booze, seized over the past year, is currently in customs buildings across the country.

The alcohol, known locally as bombs, is pure spirit often mixed in cocktails to make servings go further and has been linked to many cases where Brits have been struck down with severe illness and even blindness.

Eight companies have been approved by Greek authorities to manufacture the antiseptic now in short supply due the killer bug.

The Greek defence ministry announced this week that the armed forces had also been ordered to start producing antiseptic from the alcohol with a view to supplying the national guard and health ministry.

In the coming weeks, it is hoped that 30,000 400-ml sized bottles will be produced.

BOOTLEG BOOZE PROBLEM

Back in 2018, the Sun reported that Brits travelling to party resorts in Greece were becoming violently ill after drinking illegal alcohol mixed with cheap methanol, a chemical used in antifreeze for cars.

Hannah Powell unknowingly drank the dodgy booze after a trip to Zante in January that year, which damaged her kidneys so badly that she was kept alive by a dialysis machine.

Her life was saved by her own mum, who went under the knife to donate a life-saving kidney after drinking vodka laced with bootleg booze.

What is bootleg booze?

Police, backed by customs officials, regularly discover the bootleg booze, a multi-billion pound underground business.

When bars and restaurants in Laganas, the ‘anything goes’ resort on the party island of Zante, was raided in August 2018, the  bottles contained pure spirit and were labelled 'vodka', 'rum', 'gin' and 'Cointreau'.

Samples from the bottles were sent to laboratories for official analysis and were determined to be 100 pure spirit, known as methanol.

Brit tourists have been frequently hospitalised due to the deadly drink with symptoms such as losing their sights, vomiting and liver damage.

The drinks known as 'bombs' n Greek, have darkened the reputation of resorts following revelations that bars almost nightly mix cocktails with pure spirit in a bid to make servings go further.

Britons are the number one visitors to Zante and Marathon pub crawls, organised by holiday reps acting on commission, are a major attraction with tourists.

The dangerous drinks also left her blind and it wasn't until later that she regained 10 per cent vision in her one eye.

Another nine Brits were also struck down by the deadly booze that same summer including Lauren Blair, 22, who vomited so much she ruptured her gullet and student Jack Taylor who suffered liver damage.

Greece currently has a death toll of 49 and 1314 confirmed cases as the country announced that it would go into lockdown at the end of March.

With a population of 11 million, the country is now bracing itself for a tough month ahead as it struggles with a shortage of medical supplies.

All non-essential movement is now prohibited with Greeks only being allowed to travel for food, medicine and doctors appointments, work and exercise.

They must carry ID at all times and have a valid reason to be outdoors.

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