A SUPPORT worker has shared an ingenious money-saving hack to smuggle alcohol into a festival.
Sophie Taylor and her friends claim to have saved more than £200 at Kubix festival in Herrington Country Park, Sunderland on Saturday.
The 20-year-old came up with the idea to surgically place pink gin inside a sealed carton of cranberry juice – using nail glue and a syringe.
Sophie from St Helens, County Durham, made a video to walk other festival goers through the intricate process.
The video shows a massive syringe delicately poked underneath the corner flap of the carton which has been ripped from the side of the packaging.
The medical tool is then used to completely empty the carton before decanting the Tesco branded juice into plastic water bottles where it can be enjoyed at a later date.
The syringe is then brought back out to transport the girls’ stash of pink gin from a bowl into the cranberry juice carton.
Now left with the challenge of resealing the container, the group creatively uses nail glue and tissue paper to stick the cardboard corner flap back down.
Despite a nervous wait as Sophie snuck her way through security, the masterstroke paid off and another clip shows the group enjoying their boozy beverages inside.
Speaking today, Sophie said: “We were very nervous, to be honest. We didn’t think we would get away with it.
“The lengths we went to just to make sure it was still sealed and you couldn’t tell we had tampered with it.
“Now when I look back I’m not that surprised we got away with it.
“When we first got through the checking point the security pulled us to the side to check our bags and our picnic basket.
“The gin was in a bag with a blanket next to it so after the security had finished checking the picnic basket they glanced in the bag with the gin, but saw it was sealed and thought nothing of it.
“Personally, I thought the drinks were overpriced. It was £22 for a bottle of wine and £6 for a pint.
“The hack saved me and my friends around £200 so I’m pleased we thought of it. I’d definitely do it again.”
Sophie shared the video to TikTok on Monday writing: “The lengths we will go to not pay £8.50 for a gin.”
The post has now collected over 900,000 views with more than 61,000 likes and 600 comments from users who loved the crafty hack.
One user said: “I’m loving these sneaky ways to get drinks in.”
Another admitted: “I work in security, now I know. I would 100% not question this as I would do it myself too.”
A third commented: “I don’t know why they don’t just let us have our own booze as long as it’s limited to like one or two litres because either way I’m bringing my own.”
A fourth added: “I’m not even going to ask why you own a massive syringe like that.”
One member replied: “The dedication is immaculate.”
Another wrote: “Absolute genius.”
A final user said: “That’s the best life hack I’ve seen.”
Kubix Festival in Sunderland now runs over two weekends to cater for different music tastes.
Saturday’s pop and dance showcase was headlined by 90s supergroup Steps on the main stage.
