When £20 buys you 60 bottles of strong lager, how can we take a crackdown on drinking seriously?

Supermarkets have launched some of their cheapest ever deals on alcohol in defiance of ministers' concerns about cutprice drink.

Timed to coincide with football's European Championships, which began at the weekend, the offers mean shoppers can effectively buy Stella Artois for about 66p a pint, and Carlsberg for less than 48p a pint.

Price cuts at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons appear to be a direct challenge the Government's latest strategy to reduce under-age drinking.

Last week, Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, signalled that ministers are prepared to ban supermarkets from selling drink below cost, because they are so worried about the impact of cheap alcohol.

Nottinghamshire's chief constable, Steve Green, has also condemned cutprice promotions. Supermarkets and the drinks industry may be trying to protect their profits, but they are working against the interests of young people and the Health Service, the chief constable said.

'The industry is still determined to make as much money out of people's miseries as they possibly can and they don't care who suffers as a result.

'They have to challenge how they are selling stuff, where they are selling it and how much they are selling it for,' he told the BBC.

'I think there needs to be some control on prices. I would have it sold under the counter like cigarettes, because alcohol is just as dangerous as tobacco.'

Last week, MPs accused Tesco and Asda of 'immoral' behaviour for selling alcohol at below cost price.

The Home Affairs Select Committee was told that 80 to 90 per cent of the young were 'pre-loading' on cheap supermarket alcohol before heading out to pubs and bars.

Those who had been drinking beforehand were two-and-a-half times more likely to be involved in trouble.

Earlier this month, the Government outlined a youth alcohol action plan. Proposals include giving parents guidance about how much alcohol children can safely consume, and giving police the power to disperse drunk under-18s who are behaving badly.

The Home Office has also commissioned a study on the marketing of alcohol by supermarkets and the drinks trade.

It is expected to offer a scathing verdict on supermarkets' policy of boosting sales and consumption of alcohol by offering it at a loss. Recent promotions of cheap lager and cider have brought down the cost of alcohol to below the price charged for some bottled waters.

Cut-price deals were also available at Easter and for other major football tournaments. Evidence supplied to a Competition Commission inquiry last year suggested that the big four stores sold about £100million of beer, wine and spirits below cost around the time of the last World Cup.

But the supermarkets defended their actions. Tesco said: 'In a fiercely competitive market we compete with the pricing strategies of other retailers. In response to competition we will sell below the market price.'

And Asda agreed. 'We will certainly at times sell alcohol below cost. When items are on promotion for short times, absolutely that is possible.'

The supermarkets have schemes to limit sales to under-18s. These include challenging anyone who looks younger than 25.