Middle-classes are the biggest drinkers

MIDDLE-CLASS drinkers were today blamed for fuelling Britain's alcohol crisis.

More than 40 per cent of high-earning executives are breaching official daily drinking guidelines.

New figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that middle-class men and women are more dependent on alcohol than any other social class. They show a class divide with more people in high-earning jobs breaching safe limits than anyone else.

Government guidelines state men should drink no more than three to four units a day.

The limit for women is two to three units - the equivalent of one to two glasses of a medium strength wine.

But those earning £52,000 or more a year are more than twice as likely to exceed this amount than those on lower incomes. Nearly a third of high-earning men and women are drinking double the safe levels of alcohol on at least one day a week. The findings are based on two authoritative studies - the General Household Survey 2007 and Opinions 2008 - which are used to monitor alcohol trends. They do reveal, however, that adults are more aware of the risks associated with drinking.

More than nine out of 10 people know alcohol increases the risk of liver disease and accidents. But doctors say this does not seem to be affecting consumption. Overall more than a third of adults are breaching the official drinking benchmark.

People are also drinking more as they get older. One in five aged 45 and over drink five days a week. This compares with only six per cent of those aged 16 to 24.

The report reveals that people are drinking more heavily at home than in pubs and bars. Nearly two thirds of women are likely to consume alcohol at home compared with only 17 per cent in a pub or bar. The number of men drinking at home is 45 per cent compared with just over a third in a pub or bar.

Ministers have spent millions on awareness campaigns over safe drinking. The Royal College of Physicians has called on them to bring in compulsory labelling on drink so people can track their consumption.

The ONS figures also show smoking levels have now fallen to the lowest ever recorded. Only one in five Britons now smokes.