London, Nov 17: Asian corner shops are selling sex-enhancement pills after thousands of Indian-made cheap variations of the drug Viagra flooded into Britain, trading officials have warned.

Trading standards officials have also cautioned that untested imitation pills could have deadly consequences.

Officials have also urged anyone who has bought the "pills that kill", to discard them immediately.

The potentially fatal pills being sold under the counter include Vigora, Proxyron and Kamagra.

Viagra can only be sold with a doctor's prescription or at select pharmacies in Britain.

Health experts say just one of the generic pills could kill someone who is already taking medicines for liver, heart, kidney or blood pressure problems. Asians in Britain, prone to heart conditions and diabetes, are said to be more at risk.

"These tablets are illegal and unlicensed and have not been tested to UK standards to ensure they are safe. Anyone taking them could be risking their life," BBC quoted Sangeeta Sharma, a senior pharmaceutical advisor who works for the local health authority in Ealing, West London, as saying.

Recently trading standards officers working undercover have seized nearly 1,600 tablets from one shop in Southall and 2,000 tablets in nearby Ealing, and believe the drugs are also being sold in Yorkshire and Scotland, in northern Britain.

The west London suburbs of both Southall and Ealing have large populations of Asians.

In India, a strip of four tablets can be as cheap as 50 pence, compared with 15 pounds in London.

Boots, a well-known British pharmaceutical chain, sells Viagra pills over the counter, but only after an hour-long consultation and medical tests conducted by a pharmacist, costing four tablets for 50 pounds.

The manufacturers of one of the drugs in question have expressed their concern over the illegal trade, saying their drug should be taken only under medical supervision.

"As far as Ajanta is concerned people should always seek medical advice," said Arvind Agrawal, from Ajanta Pharma Ltd, the makers of Kamagra. (ANI)