“On April 2, a large quantity of bootlegged alcohol was distributed in Qom,” Iran’s clerical capital and the home of many religious seminaries, south of Teheran, it said.

“A number of the drinkers were hospitalised and according to the inhabitants of Qom, 10 people have died,” the ultra-conservative daily added.

It said that local officials had yet to confirm the death toll.

It is not the first time that toxic moonshine has claimed lives in Iran, an Islamic country where the production and consumption of alcohol is generally strictly prohibited.

In May 2006, 15 people died from alcohol poisoning in the southern city of Sirjan, while in June 2004 it was reported that 22 Iranians died of the same cause in the southern city of Shiraz.

Only recognised Christian minorities in Iran, such as the Armenians, are allowed to produce and consume alcohol, discreetly and behind closed doors so as not to offend Islamic sensibilities.

Production, sale or consumption of alcohol are otherwise punishable by jail or the lash, although this has not stopped significant smuggling from neighbouring countries.

Newspapers reported on Sunday that 46,000 cans of beer had been seized and destroyed in the capital in recent months.

Home distilled spirits sell for far less than smuggled foreign brands and are the tipple of choice in poorer neighbourhoods, but the use of industrial chemicals in their production sometimes poses serious health risks.