IN the report about the cost of alcohol abuse (Sepember 1), Cllr Cliff Morris, Labour Leader of the Council, said: “It’s not about saying to people don’t drink, it’s about targeting excess drinking. We're looking at the cost to the health service and their health so it’s educating people on what excess drink can do to them.”

He seems to have conveniently forgotten that when he was Chairman of the Royal Bolton Hospital Trust, the A & E Department could not cope with the volume of patients and regularly failed targets.

The situation was exacerbated by the number of people who turned up under the influence of drink of drugs and had to be treated. This delayed the treatment of people who were genuinely ill or injured through no fault of their own. He now says in the report: “I think the policy of us all working together on the alcohol strategy is a good thing for Bolton.”

It is a pity that he did not think about that when he was Chairman of the hospital trust and at the same time his council introduced 24-hour drinking in the town.

R Swindells Bolton