Middle class are biggest abusers of alcoholBy Rebecca Smith and Sarah Womack
Middle-class drinkers who unwind with a bottle of wine are putting themselves in danger, with figures out today showing one in four couples in some affluent areas are regularly consuming "hazardous" levels of alcohol.
A study involving every local authority in the country found the worst rates of dangerous weekly drinking are in some of the country's most attractive suburbs.
Harrogate, North Yorks, and Runnymede, Surrey Heath, Guildford and Mole Valley, all in Surrey, are the worst culprits – with up to one in four residents consuming more than three bottles of wine a week.
This is enough to put their health at serious risk, experts warn.
The Government's approach to tackling problem drinking has focused mainly on teenage binge drinkers, but this research found there is an epidemic of excessive drinking among the middle classes.
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