A SURVEY has revealed that one in four adults in the South West are drinking more since lockdown began.

Independent alcohol education charity, Drinkware, surveyed 2,001 UK adults and found that one in five of them in the South West say they are drinking on days they wouldn't usually since lockdown began, and one in ten admit to having had their first drink earlier in the day.

Drinkaware CEO, Elaine Hindal, said: "It appears that as lockdown continues, many people are drinking more. And problematic drinking habits like drinking earlier in the day and on days you wouldn’t usually can lead to serious health issues for many people.

"With this new normal set to go on for a few more months, thousands of people could be in danger of establishing a variety of ingrained and hard-to-break drinking habits that could have an impact on their health – both physical and mental. Now is the ideal time to take control of how much we’re drinking for our wellbeing.

"What’s more, is that we know people tend to underestimate how much they drink. And this is even more likely during lockdown.

"The measures we get in pubs, bars and restaurants are poured with precision, whereas at home, we’re unlikely to pour spirits in measures of 25ml or ensure we stop at 125ml to measure a small glass of wine. Yet doing this is crucial to help us moderate our drinking and staying within the low risk guidelines of 14 units a week."

Drinkaware has an online self-assessment that can help identify whether someone should be concerned about how much they drink.