MyShout

Some of these do-gooders need to put 'research' into perspective - and pay a visit to Harrogate, says James Craw

So, the previously genteel town of Harrogate is awash with middle-aged people knocking back the Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc and getting legless every evening?

According to recent research the town where I was born - and where I still choose to live and bring up my family - has been infiltrated by the demon drink, a quarter of us are going to end up with pickled livers

and we'll all go to hell in a handcart.

All I can say is, perhaps more towns should try upping their quota of residents who indulge in so-called hazardous drinking. Because there are very few places in England that match the quality of life we experience in Harrogate.

If the price we pay for a few people overdoing the recommended number of units is enjoying life in a well-kept town with prize-winning parks and the world-famous Betty's tea rooms, with little fear of getting mugged or having your car torched, then bring it on. I'm not being flippant about the issue of excessive drinking. I recognise it is one of the most serious issues affecting our whole society.

What I do find ridiculous is the amount of "research" being carried out by yet more do-gooders who are determined to eradicate anything that is remotely dangerous from our lives.

Why don't all these groups who are interested in alcohol and its effects pool their resources to solve a problem that is deeply troubling? They need to get to the bottom of the reasons why a small minority of our society feel they have to drink to excess regularly, until they are out of control and causing suffering to themselves and other people.

These people are the real scourge of our community, not someone like my next-door neighbour who might choose to down half a bottle with his dinner tonight. That may be regarded by some as binge drinking, but he won't be coming round to my house after his pudding, threatening to beat me up, or vomiting in the flowerbeds and peeing up against my garden wall.

So until that problem has been investigated and a solution found, I for one won't be paying attention to any of these scare stories that are published with monotonous regularity. And before you ask, I'm not a big fan of wine. Give me an ice-cold Coke with a slice of lemon over a glass of Chardonnay any day.

James Craw is the managing director

of Tadcaster pub company