Alcohol

Filmed with the emergency services in Blackpool, this powerful documentary series reveals how Britain is changing, as seen through the eyes of police, fire and ambulance teams on the front line responding to 999 calls. This episode focuses on a factor fueling problems across the UK: alcohol. Britain likes to drink and Blackpool is a magnet for stag and hen parties, with around 2000 clubs and bars. 'It's a mixture between a zoo and Jeremy Kyle's waiting room,' says Sergeant Dunne. 'We've practically turned into a nation of just drunkards really, haven't we?'. 'You learn a new language when you start working here,' says ambulance control operator Alex Bathgate. 'When I first started I couldn't understand a word anyone said. But four years down the line I can speak drunk quite fluently on a Saturday night.' But there are more serious consequences to our alcohol consumption than falling over and having a sore head the next morning. With more than a quarter of adults drinking to hazardous levels, alcohol is a major factor in half of all crime and more than 70% of violent crimes, and costs the NHS £2.7 billion a year. It dominates the work of all three emergency services. Alcohol is also a factor in a third of all fatal fires: 'Cigarettes and alcohol combined are a lethal combination,' says fire fighter Tony Barlow. 'That is a good majority of fires where people die.' The programme also looks at other problems associated with excessive drinking, including anti-social behaviour and the fallout from alcohol dependency.