The axe has finally fallen on duty-free shopping at Southend Airport.

Bosses did everything they could to stop the end of tax free shopping within the European Union which came into action at midnight last night, but despite organising petitions and campaigns, their pleas fell on deaf ears.

An airport spokesman said: "From our point of view it is not exactly devastating, although we do derive quite a lot of revenue from it and we are going to have to do something to make it up.

"We have done our best, but quite honestly we are at the bottom and there is nothing we can do."

Across the country, the duty free trade was worth £4.5 billion a year.

Secretary general of the Duty Free Confederation Brian Goddard said: ''It is a sad day for consumers and duty free traders.''

The Confederation has warned the abolition could see a massive influx of goods from the continent which will hit UK manufacturers and duty-free suppliers and could cost jobs.

The world's biggest duty-free trader, BAA, which runs Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said today it would maintain duty-free prices on 90 per cent of goods for EU travellers.

British Airways has already confirmed that it is suspending sales of cigarettes and spirits on board until the post duty-free situation becomes clearer.

On ferries, it is predicted shops will close once they enter UK waters and goods will be subject to higher UK duty rates.

Meanwhile, one of Britain's leading supermarkets is advising shoppers they would be better off stocking up on drink before going abroad.

Britain's second biggest supermarket chain Asda, which has stores in Shoebury and Basildon, claims passengers travelling within the European Union would save more going to their local store than accepting promises of former duty-free traders.

It said its prices were consistently lower than duty free shops at airports and on ferries and would remain so.

The supermarket chain has introduced a series of tax-free prices on beer, wine, spirits, perfume and skincare products until September.

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