MORE than eight million people in Britain, the equivalent to one in six, are considered to have a drink problem, according to figures released by the Department of Health recently. Problem drinking has been classified as regularly drinking at least four p

MORE than eight million people in Britain, the equivalent to one in six, are considered to have a drink problem, according to figures released by the Department of Health recently.

Problem drinking has been classified as regularly drinking at least four pints of beer or eight small glasses of wine for men, and three pints of beer or six small glasses of wine for women at one session.

Reporter ADAM LAZZARI went out to discover the drinking habits of people in Ely.

Katy Staines, 18, from Ely.

"I do drink most weekends, but rarely during the week. I have to say I do tend to binge a bit when I go out on a Saturday night, but most people at my age do the same and I'm not too worried about it."

Nigel Matthewman, 47, from Ely.

"I know that I drink too much. I would say I usually have at least a couple of strong beers every day and I often drink at home instead of going to the pub.

"Some days I go mad and drink far too much but other days I'm a bit more sensible. I do worry about my drinking sometimes."

Tom Pearce, 72, from Littleport.

"I hardly drink at all. I used to drink a lot when I was in the Navy but had to stop when I changed jobs; I became project engineer for Pirelli tyres and had to drive around a lot. I'm retired now and have a bit of brandy now and again."

Crispin Semmens, 21, from Ely.

"I do drink quite regularly but not a lot. I usually have a few drinks on a Monday night, just as a social thing. I've had a few incidents, like most people, but I'm not interested in drinking all the time.

"I'm not at all surprised by these statistics; we've always had a heavy drinking culture in Britain."

Ryan Byng, 18, from Littleport.

"Yeah, I have to admit I do drink quite a lot. I drink most weekends and after work if I've had a stressful day. I mainly drink cider, but when I'm trying to get drunk I'll mix up some shots."

Shirley Smith, from Cambridge.

"I gave up drinking a long time ago and I'm almost completely teetotal now. I rarely go out and have a glass of wine with a nice meal, but that's it.

"It doesn't surprise me to hear that the Government considers one in six people in Britain to be problem drinkers, I actually thought it would be more than that.