TWO local MP’s have visited an alcohol rehabilitation centre to see the work being done to help struggling alcoholics.

Dr Andrew Murrison, MP for South West Wiltshire and John Glen, MP for Salisbury, visited Clouds House in East Knoyle, a rehabilitation centre run by the Wiltshire-based charity Action on Addiction, to learn more about the impact of cheap booze.

Dr Murrison said: “In my professional life I have dealt with many people with addictive behaviour so I know the impact alcohol can have on an individual’s health but also on the wider community. I am proud to have such an excellent service like Clouds House in my constituency.”

In the UK, beer in supermarkets and off-licences is now 188 per cent more affordable than in 1987. Beer duty is now 16 per cent lower than in 2012, and cider and spirit duty eight per cent lower, and the charity says while demand for addiction services increases, public funding treatment is reducing.

Mr Glen said: “The team at Clouds House are doing such great work to help people recover but there is more to do to reduce addiction levels.”

The Alcohol Health Alliance feels the government needs to act quickly to reverse this trend, by introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol, or risk unprecedented levels of alcoholism.

Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: “The affordability of alcohol is damaging not to just the individual but the NHS as well. The Treasury will lose around £8.4 billion over ten years because of recent alcohol duty freezes; this would be enough to pay for 52,000 social care packages for older people. That is why we ask the government to increase alcohol duties in this year’s budget.”