They have stopped serving shots in the backpacker bars of Vang Vieng.

The night spots of this south-east Asian tourist town would normally be full of young travellers downing traditional Lao whiskey, a strong rice-based spirit, bouncing from bar to bar and partying until dawn.

But the mood on Saturday night was sombre – and with good reason.

Six foreign tourists including Simone White, a 28-year-old British lawyer, have died in the last two weeks from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking contaminated alcohol in the town.

“We are not really scared,” said Aron Stephen, an Australian tourist, while sipping a mango shake in downtown Vang Vieng. “They don’t give shots anywhere now. We couldn’t find any in the past few nights.”

Holly Bowles, Mr Stephen’s fellow Australian, died aged 19 in a Thai hospital just a day after her best friend Bianca Jones. Two Danes and James Hutson, a 57-year-old American, are also dead.