The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of a number of people taken to hospital after the incident in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng last week

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,