Booze News

[Yithian]

You clearly have a mind destined for great things!

There's a killing to be made there...

 

[Anome]

From arteriosclerosis, in all likelihood.

 

[ramonmercado]

Why not just soak sausagemeat in the stuff, deep fry it and call it a national dish?

Why not soak Haggis in it? It could contain its ain toast.

 

[rynner2]

Tories to hit drinkers with £500 fine if they end up in hospital as NHS faces £23m NYE binging bill
By Scott Warren
Last updated at 9:46 AM on 31st December 2009
Comments (27) Add to My Stories

Tories could charge £532 for drunk patients
Tonight's drunk admissions to cost NHS £23m
Home drinkers overpour drinks by two-to-one

Drinkers who end up in hospital could face a bill for more than £500 under new plans being considered by the Tories.
The Conservatives want revellers to pay for any overnight stay in hospital to help meet the soaring cost of binge drinking.

The plan emerged as hospitals prepare for their busiest night of the year, with a centre-right think tank estimating New Year's Eve admissions will cost the NHS £23million.

Policy Exchange warned that alcohol misuse in Britain is at such a level it constitutes a public health epidemic.

Think tank health boss Henry Featherstone said: 'Direct costs to the NHS are nearly £3billion a year. Hospital admissions for alcohol intoxication have doubled in a decade.
'The Government should now commit to a review of its entire strategy for tackling harms from alcohol misuse.'
He recommended that the cost of hospital admissions for patients to 'sleep off alcohol excess' should be covered by the individual, not the NHS.
Patients who agreed to take part in an alcohol awareness course would receive a discount.

The report also warned of a rise in liver disease deaths related to alcohol use.
The Tories are looking into the findings and could implement the recommendations in time for next New Year's Eve if they win the next election, which must be held by June.

Meanwhile, home drinkers were told to be more careful measuring their drinks as a Department of Health study found that 'home barmen' regularly overpour drinks by as much as two-to-one.
Those making a resolution to reduce alcohol intake should consider using a measure, having smaller glasses and even banishing alcohol from the house in January to give themselves a flying start, health officials said.

The advice was issued after a series of experiments on 200 people in London, North Shields and Liverpool earlier this month found that overpouring was common.
The average drinker measures a unit of wine at twice what it should be and people drinking spirits at home are giving themselves more than double what they would get in a pub if they ordered a single shot, the study showed.
The findings, issued as part of the Know Your Limits campaign, come after it was estimated that 10million adults in England regularly exceed the recommended daily limits and put their health at risk.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0bGRS4vLN

Happy New Year! 8)

 

[Moooksta]

(EDIT - this isn't that Fortean and perhaps the Mods might want to bump it to main stream news. If you give it a title I'd suggest "SHODDY JOURNALISM" - though the thread could run and run and run...)

This story has really wound me up and the question I have to ask is...

When you last bought a bottle of spirits were you asked your nationality?

BBC NEWS

Scots 'drink 46 bottles of vodka'

Adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year, a study has suggested.

The research was based on industry sales data analysed by NHS Health Scotland.

It said sales for the year to September 2009 averaged 12.2 litres of pure alcohol per person over the age of 18.

The Scottish government said the figure, which had remained static since 2005, was the equivalent of 537 pints or 130 bottles of wine per person.

A pint and a half a day or one third of a glass of wine. - mooks

The new figures come as the Scottish government pushes for a minimum price for alcohol to tackle the country's drink-related problems.

Minimum pricing

In total, 50.5 million litres of pure alcohol were sold in Scotland last year, enough for every drinker over the age of 18 to exceed the weekly consumption guidelines.

People in Scotland drank 25% more alcohol per head of population than individuals in England and Wales, the figures suggested.

But are they all Scottish? - mooks

In England and Wales, the total for the same period was 9.7 litres per person.

Average weekly sales for Scottish drinkers were 26.5 units per person over the age of 18, equivalent to about 11 pints of beer or three bottles of wine.

In England and Wales, the figure was 21.8, slightly higher than the recommended weekly maximum for a man.

Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said it was time for critics of minimum pricing to "wake up" to the scale of Scotland's drink problem.

She added: "All the evidence tells us that the big rise in Scottish alcohol consumption in recent decades is closely linked with the 70% drop in alcohol's relative cost.

"As a consequence, our country now faces an unprecedented burden from alcohol-related health problems, crime and lost economic productivity, which runs into billions and which we are all paying for.

"Currently there is nothing to stop supermarkets selling alcohol more cheaply than bottled water and that's why it's possible to exceed the weekly drinking guidelines for a man for less than £3.50."

Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie MSP said: "I believe that alcohol abuse is the most important public health issue we face in Scotland today.

"We need to consider radical measures to reduce the level of problem drinking but minimum unit pricing is not the answer.

"The truth is that Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon are promoting a scheme that will increase the profits of the supermarkets, but won't provide a single penny for more police officers or alcohol treatment.

"The challenge now is for us to come up with something better. That is why we have created a commission under the chairmanship of Professor Sally Brown to consider ways of restricting cheap booze and tackling alcohol abuse."

I was home for two weeks over Christmas to see the family. Eleven us are of a legal drinking age. Bottles of vodka I saw...zero!! I saw two bottles of malt - mine, beer in bottles and alcopops (so beloved of my nieces) but no vodka. Someone somewhere is very, very drunk!

How many Scots on the boards drink vodka? And are you drinking my share?

 

[Yithian]

Scots 'drink 46 bottles of vodka'

Adults in Scotland are drinking the equivalent of 46 bottles of vodka each in a year, a study has suggested.

Well the mismatch between the dubious headline and the first line is stark.
That's like saying because I ate four hamburgers, which collectively contain the equivalent in meat of 14 hamsters, I, in fact, ate 14 Hamsters. It just isn't true.

In other news:
"Man wipes arse on seven trees this year alone!"

Or did he just use toilet paper?

 

[escargot]

Perhaps the headline might have made more sense with the word 'spirits' instead of the more specific 'vodka'.

However, a headline is what it is. It's supposed to grab the reader's attention by creating a picture in their mind, which it seems to have done quite successfully.

The article itself soons makes it clear that the image of the bottles of vodka is to demonstrate the equivalent amount of alcohol consumed in Scotland.

In any case, Scots certainly do drink some vodka. I've heard from eyewitnesses that younger Scots drink vodka with Irn Bru.
Sounds horrendous to me, but I expect you stop noticing the taste after a few. :lol:

 

[_Lizard23_]

46 x 30 (the number of 1 unit 25ml single measure of spirits in one standard 750ml bottle of 'vodka') = 1380 Source

1380 / 365 = 3.78 (rounded down)

Therefore the daily average consumption of alcoholic units per adult per day according to the article in Scotland is less than 4.

Recommended maximum units of alcohol consumption per day according to NHS/ UK govt = women 2-3 : men 3-4 (same site)

Statistics are such fun!

According to the NHS (possible optional registration hassles)

Men and women in England and Wales were
more likely to drink frequently than adults in
Scotland but were not any more likely to
drink more than 3 or 4 units on at least one
day in the previous week. Across England,
drinkers in were more likely to drink
more than 3 or 4 units on at least one day in
the previous week.

This, like a lot of these statistics, appears to be based on survey information.

"Have you drunk alcohol in the last week?"
"No (hic!)"

According to this rather dull and slow loading pdf
Average weekly sales of alcoholic units per person over 18 in Scotland in 2009 = 23.4 (=3.34 per day rounded down)
Average weekly sales of alcoholic units per person over 18 in England and Wales in 2009 = 18.7 (= 2.67 per day rounded down)

You have to be careful not to confuse the adult per capita figures with the adult per 'alcohol drinkers' population - how they work out who is a drinker and who isn't must surely also be a self-reported or estimated figure. Similarly, I don't see how they can accurately define the drinking statistics of under 18 year olds, as it is not legal for them to buy alcohol in either Scotland or 'England&Wales', so again I assume it is self-reported or estimated. What the Northern Irish have done to be excluded from the figures, I dunno.

Obviously these averages by population are fairly meaningless considering some people drink no alcohol at all, some have a glass of sherry at xmas and some (ahem) drink 3 bottles of gin a day, not to mention the cross border alcohol buying that must go on (People from all over the world buying souvenir bottles of whisky in Scotland, Brits of all flavours scooting over the channel in transit vans to 'stock up for the wedding' etc (much easier for those in the south of England than for the Scots or those from 'the North West and Yorkshire and
Humber regions' btw).

"Looks like the Scots might go through a bit more booze than the English and Welsh, on average, per head of the adult population." might be a more accurate headline?

Shit journalism.

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

Never mind the alcohol. What about the monks of Buckfast and their tonic wine? It just fair gives me the jitters, so it does!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/tonic-wine-behind-violent-crimes-1871416.html

Tonic wine 'behind violent crimes'

Independent Online. 18 January 2010

The tonic wine Buckfast has been mentioned in 5,000 crime reports by Scotland's biggest police force in the last three years, an investigation has revealed.

Almost one in ten of those crimes in the Strathclyde Police area was violent, according to figures obtained by the BBC under Freedom of Information legislation.

During that period Buckfast bottles were used as a weapon 114 times.

Police said the figures suggested there is an association between Buckfast and violence.

The findings are revealed in the programme BBC Scotland Investigates: The Buckfast Code.

During the programme Superintendent Bob Hamilton of Strathclyde Police was asked whether the figures mean that Buckfast can be said to be associated with violence. He replied: "I think it's clear from the figures that there is an association there."

The investigation looked at the ingredients of the drink and how they may affect the behaviour of consumers, potentially making them anxious and aggressive if drunk in large quantities.

Neuroscientist Dr Steven Alexander told the programme there is 281 milligrammes of caffeine in a bottle of Buckfast - as much caffeine as in eight cans of coke.

Asked about the effects of consuming more caffeine than there is in 16 cans of coke, Dr Alexander said: "It's going to have him bouncing around all over the place because the anxiety levels, the adrenalin will be running around. He will certainly be feeling very anxious, very aggressive."

Buckfast is produced by monks in a Devon monastery.

Go on! "Take a drink!"

 

[ramonmercado]

Are there any records of the Monks indulging in Anti Social Behaviour? Do they build up a tolerance for the the wine?

 

[Timble2]

Are there any records of the Monks indulging in Anti Social Behaviour? Do they build up a tolerance for the the wine?

Monks have some bad habits you know...

 

[ramonmercado]

Are there any records of the Monks indulging in Anti Social Behaviour? Do they build up a tolerance for the the wine?

Monks have some bad habits you know...

The Capuchins get up to a lot of monkey business.

 

[rynner2]

English sparkling wine beats French champagne to top title
An English sparkling wine has captured first prize in an international competition, beating the leading French champagne producers including Bollinger and Louis Roederer.
By Richard Savill
Published: 7:30AM GMT 29 Jan 2010

Nyetimber's Classic Cuvée 2003 which is made in Sussex was crowned Champion of Worldwide Sparkling Wines in the competition run by Italy's wine magazine Euposia.

Now in its second year, the competition Bollicine del Mondo attracts sparkling wines from around the world. The wines are tasted blind by a panel of judges including winemakers.

The Nyetimber wine, made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes, is described as having “aromas of mandarins, vanilla and lemons” as well as “shortbread and light apricot” with “biscuity notes playing a supporting role”.

Camel Valley's Pinot Noir Brut, which is made in Bodmin, Cornwall, also featured in the top 10.

The English wines, which cost less than £30 a bottle, were competing with France's leading Champagne manufacturers.

Nyetimber's Blanc de Blancs 2001 was in the top 12 wines in the competition, out of a total of 52 entries.

Eric Hareema, the owner of Nyetimber in West Chiltington, Sussex, said the success of the wine was due to the hot summer of 2003, which produced the winning grapes.

He said: “It really has been an extremely exciting year for all of us. This is a significant win on the international stage and to win against champagnes is extremely rewarding.”

Beppe (Giuliano, director of Euposia, said: “This is an outstanding success for England and my congratulations go to Nyetimber for their win.

”We were so impressed with the wide variety of wine regions that were represented in this competition.”

Bob Lindo (corr), of Camel Valley, said the results were a “big win for the British”.

He said: “The fact that it is judged blind really does show we've beaten everyone fair and square. To think that we just beat Bollinger is just remarkable.”

The first Nyetimber vineyards were planted in Sussex in 1988. The aim was to make premium sparkling wine that would rival Champagne.

The south of England shares similar geology and soils to the Champagne region.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... title.html

But if you prefer cocktails, yesterday's paper had this news

Couple are first to sell olives grown in Britain
A couple have begun to produce olives commercially from their small-holding in Sidlesham, near Chichester, West Sussex, after giving up their careers to pursue ‘The ‘Good Life’.
...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... itain.html

Bubbly and olives from Sussex!

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

Brilliant! All the more reason to stay down 'ere then....world-class local booze.

 

[ramonmercado]

They should have stuck to their vow of silence.

Monks reject Buckfast wine link to crime in Scotland
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl ... 490681.stm

Youth drinking Buckfast
The drink is produced by the monks from imported wines

Monks at a Devon abbey have defended a fortified wine they produce after it was linked to crime by police in Scotland.

Buckfast Tonic Wine was mentioned in 5,638 crime reports from 2006 to 2009, Strathclyde Police said.

One in 10 of those offences were violent and the bottle was used as a weapon 114 times in that period.

The monks said it was "hard to see" how the wine could be "held responsible for all the social ills" of Strathclyde.

The possible link between the wine and crime emerged after a Freedom of Information request by BBC Scotland.

It was backed by Supt Bob Hamilton, of Strathclyde Police, who said it was "clear from the figures that there is an association there".


Has anyone considered that the misuse of this wine by some could be seen as a symptom rather than a cause of such problems?
Buckfast Abbey

But the monks have issued a statement defending the wine, which its distributors say has just 0.5% of Scotland's alcohol market.

It said: "What is clear is that there are serious, social problems in some parts of Scotland and that in some of these parts there are people who abuse alcoholic drinks, including Buckfast Tonic Wine.

"Deplorable as these are, it is hard to see how one product with only a small percentage of the market can be held responsible for all the social ills of such an area.

"This seems a rather rapid leap of logic. Has anyone considered that the misuse of this wine by some could be seen as a symptom rather than a cause of such problems?"

The drink is produced by the monks at Buckfast from imported wines and bottled by a separate company, J Chandler, in Andover, Hampshire.

According to researchers, each bottle contains 281mg of caffeine - the same amount as eight cans of coke.

Catherine Stihler, a Scottish Labour MEP, has called on the European Union to ban Buckfast and other drinks that combine alcohol and caffeine.

She said: "Many consumers are unaware of the damage they are doing to their bodies."

But South West Conservative MEP Ashley Fox said banning Buckfast would "destroy years of Devon heritage".

He said: "Do people honestly think that if Buckfast wine is banned, hooligans will start drinking tea?"

 

[Yithian]

Are there any records of the Monks indulging in Anti Social Behaviour? Do they build up a tolerance for the the wine?

Monks have some bad habits you know...

The Capuchins get up to a lot of monkey business.

They're easily startled though. I saw one of them monkeying-around the other day. All I did was shout: "Oi! Capuchin, No!", and he dropped everything and began to make me a coffee. Odd chap...

 

[JamesWhitehead]

I was thinking of Phyllosan but that proves to be tablets. "Phyllosan Fortifies the over-forties!"

What I should have been thinking of was Wincarnis - the name means Meat Wine!
Described Here.

I have vague memories of tasting an iron-enhanced tonic wine as a sprog.

I have read so much about Neds on Buckie that I think those monks are fibbing. They have a youthful, if not exactly thriving demographic for their hideous product. It got a tasting on The News Quiz a week or so back! :cross eye

 

[Stormkhan]

Not to forget the mildly alcoholic "tonic wine" Sanatogen. The stuff that turns grannies into pickaxe-wielding hoodies!

 

[ramonmercado]

Explorers' century-old whisky found in Antarctic
http://www.physorg.com/news184568979.html
February 5th, 2010 in Other Sciences / Other

Whisky and brandy belonging to Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after being buried for 100 years in Antarctica



File photo shows penguins on an ice field in Antarctica. Five crates of whisky and brandy belonging to polar explorer Ernest Shackleton have been recovered after being buried for more than 100 years beneath the Antarctic ice, explorers said Friday.

(AP) -- This Scotch has been on the rocks for a century.

Five crates of Scotch whisky and two of brandy have been recovered by a team restoring an Antarctic hut used more than 100 years ago by famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Ice cracked some of the bottles that had been left there in 1909, but the restorers said Friday they are confident the five crates contain intact bottles "given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved."

New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team leader Al Fastier said the team thought there were two crates and were amazed to find five.

Current distillery owner, drinks group Whyte & Mackay, launched the bid to recover the Scotch whisky for samples to test and decide whether to relaunch the defunct spirit made by distiller McKinlay and Co.

Fastier said restoration workers found the crates under the hut's floorboards in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be dislodged.

The New Zealanders agreed to drill the ice to try to retrieve some bottles, although the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed to by 12 Antarctic Treaty nations.

"The unexpected find of the brandy crates, one labeled Chas. Mackinlay & Co and the other labeled The Hunter Valley Distillery Limited Allandale (Australia) are a real bonus," said Fastier.

Ice has cracked some of the crates and formed inside them. Fastier said in a statement that would make extracting the contents delicate, but the trust would decide how to do so in coming weeks.

Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, whose company supplied the Mackinlay's whisky for Shackleton, described the find as "a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers."

"If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analyzed, the original blend may be able to be replicated. Given the original recipe no longer exists, this may open a door into history," he said in a statement.

Shackleton's expedition ran short of supplies on its long ski trek to the South Pole from the northern Antarctic coast in 1907-1909 and turned back about 100 miles (160 kilometers) short of its goal.

The expedition sailed away in 1909 as winter ice formed, leaving behind supplies, including the whisky and brandy.

 

[rynner2]

Budget 2010: Drinkers face rise in spirits duty
Drinkers face swingeing increases which would add several pounds to the price of a bottle of spirits under Budget plans being drawn up in Whitehall.
By Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor
Published: 9:00PM GMT 27 Feb 2010

Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, is under strong pressure from 10 Downing Street to "make an example" of whisky, gin and vodka drinkers when he makes his Commons statement next month.

The debate over the plans is further evidence of the tension between Gordon Brown and Mr Darling, which boiled over last week when the Chancellor said No10 had unleashed the "forces of hell" on him after he predicted the recession would be the worst for 60 years.

Under the "nuclear option" plan for increasing duty – designed to appease the health lobby and show that ministers are serious about tackling the problems caused by binge drinking – the cost of a bottle of spirits would rocket, along with the cost of spirit-based alcopops favoured by young drinkers.

A bottle of Bells whisky could rise from £14.79 to £23.73 while Gordon's gin, another favourite of middle-class drinkers, would increase from £12.79 to £21.17. :shock: :shock: :shock:

Even if Mr Darling imposed a less draconian rise, industry sources are braced for increases significantly above the five per cent already earmarked for beers, wines and spirits under the government's alcohol duty "escalator".

That ensured a two per cent rise in duty above the level of inflation every year in the Budget for four years starting last year. Under Whitehall calculations, this year's escalator would be set at five per cent.

However, leading figures at No10 are pressing the Chancellor to hammer spirits much harder after a series of recommendations by MPs on the health select committee last year.

Their report demanded that "unlike in recent years, duty increases should predominantly be on stronger alcoholic drinks, notably on spirits".

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/fina ... -duty.html

So the message to spirit drinkers seems to be "Stock up now!"
(Wouldn't work for me though - if I stocked up tomorrow, it would be gone by Budget Day! )

 

[escargot]

Gordon's gin... would increase from £12.79 to £21.17

I like gin, but not that much. Looks like an abstinent middle age for me. :lol:

 

[Pete Younger]

I can foresee a time when the police will be searching attics for illeagal stills rather than weed.

 

[ramonmercado]

Gordon's gin... would increase from £12.79 to £21.17

I like gin, but not that much. Looks like an abstinent middle age for me. :lol:

That would be madness on Labours part. It would piss off a lot of people. It would also mean even more cross channel shopping trips.

 

[Timble2]

It'd severely piss off Scotland too as it'd play havoc with the Whisky industry, and both Gordon and Alister have Scottish seats....

The SNP would wipe out Labour, and Labour rely on the Scottish seats for their majority.

 

[rynner2]

It'd severely piss off Scotland too as it'd play havoc with the Whisky industry, and both Gordon and Alister have Scottish seats....

The SNP would wipe out Labour, and Labour rely on the Scottish seats for their majority.

So, not all bad news then!

 

[Pete Younger]

Oh Ryn, do you really believe you'd be better off with the other lot?

 

[rynner2]

World's oldest whisky goes on sale for £10,000 a bottle
The world's oldest malt whisky has gone on sale with a price tag of up to £10,000 a bottle.
Published: 7:30AM GMT 12 Mar 2010

The Mortlach 70-year-old Speyside was sampled by a select group of tasters at a ceremony in Edinburgh Castle.

Bottles of the rare piece of Scotland's ''liquid history'' have now hit the market.

Only 54 full-size bottles, costing £10,000 each, and 162 smaller bottles at £2,500, have been made available.

The whisky has been released under Gordon and MacPhail's Generations brand.

It was filled into its cask on October 15 1938 on the order of John Urquhart, the grandfather of the firm's joint managing directors, David and Michael Urquhart.

Exactly 70 years later, the decision was made to empty the cask and bottle its contents.

A bottle of Mortlach was piped into Edinburgh Castle today and tasted by guests in the Queen Anne Room.

David and Michael Urquhart today described it as a malt ''without comparison''.

They said: ''This is a very special day for us, one we've literally been anticipating for generations.

''Our family has been in the whisky business for a long time, with each generation building and handing on a lifetime's expertise to the next.

''We believe Mortlach 70 Years Old is a malt without comparison.

''If the reaction of those lucky enough to enjoy a dram today is anything to go by, whisky fans and people wishing to own a unique piece of Scotland's liquid history will be very excited about it.''

The rare whisky was matured in a former sherry cask made from Spanish oak. It has been bottled in a teardrop-shaped hand-blown crystal decanter with a silver stopper.

Whisky writer Charles MacLean described the dram as ''delicate, fresh, vital and fruity'', with hints of waxiness and smokiness.

Speaking at the launch, he said: ''It's the oldest cask of whisky that, in my knowledge, has ever been bottled.

''The spirit and the wood have inter-reacted beautifully over this long period of time.

''It's very exotic-tasting whisky made before the Second World War, but purely from a flavour perspective it is just astonishing, with layers of flavour which you really only get with long maturation.

''It's a superb, beautifully-made whisky.''

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink ... ottle.html

Sadly out of my price-range...

 

[rynner2]

'First' nationwide drink ban given to Bromsgrove woman

A 20-year-old woman is thought to be the first person to be banned from all licensed premises in England and Wales.

Laura Hall, from Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, cannot enter a pub, club, off-licence, or drink alcohol in a public place for two years.

West Mercia Police said it applied for a "Drinking Banning Order" (DBO) after she was repeatedly arrested for drunken behaviour.

The order, introduced last year, was issued by Kidderminster magistrates.

Sgt David Roberts, from West Mercia Police, said: "While there have been some Drinking Banning Orders issued already since their introduction last year, this is the first to be issued on a nationwide basis.

"It effectively bans Laura Hall from drinking or buying alcohol in any licensed premises across the whole of England and Wales.

A spokesman for the Home Office said until the court data was processed, it could not confirm whether Ms Hall was the first in the country to be given a nationwide ban.

A police spokesman said the alcohol-related public order offences committed by Ms Hall were in and around the Bromsgrove area.

She had already been excluded from local licensed premises through the PubWatch and Bromsgrove Against Night-time Disorder (BAND) schemes.

Breaching the conditions of the order could incur a fine, unlike anti-social behaviour orders where a breach may result in imprisonment, police said.

"We chose to use this new legislation as a way of helping address Laura's offending behaviour, and we very much hope that rather than seeing it as a punishment she will use it as an opportunity to get her life back on track," Sgt Roberts said.

"We also hope that licensees throughout Bromsgrove, Redditch and into Birmingham will be reassured by the positive action we have taken."

Ms Hall is also banned from having alcohol in any unsealed container or consuming alcohol in any public place.

She must also attend a course to tackle her alcohol-misuse issues, police said.

However, the order could be lifted after a year providing she has completed the course and has not breached any conditions of the order.

An order would not be approved for people with mental health issues or, for those who are drug or alcohol dependant, the police spokesman added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/here ... 623399.stm

 

[Pietro_Mercurios]

I used to have a girlfriend like that.

 

[Pete Younger]

Are they going to circulate her picture to every pub in the country? :? :?