A DETECTIVE and author has helped organise a support group for people looking to quit drinking.

Mum-of-two Irene Wignall, from Lostock, gave up alcohol on New Year's Eve 2018.

Sharing her story online, Irene was contacted by mum-of-three Laura Henry and the pair set up Bee Sober Bolton, an off-shoot of Bee Sober Manchester.

The group will provide a supportive environment for people who have given up alcohol and want to meet like-minded people. Their first event is planned for September 12.

Irene, 44, said: “There will be activities which focus on being outside, such as walks in Rivington. But we will also organise trips to cafes so people can dress up but not feel any pressure to drink.

“I think that’s what people really miss when they quit drinking, we want people to feel like they still have a chance to dress up and go out. Anyone who’s given up alcohol is welcome, even if it’s only been a month or two.

“During lockdown alcohol consumption has definitely gone up and people have gotten into bad habits, so we’re offering them a space to change that.”

The group is for those who want to change their relationship with alcohol and is different to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Irene, sober now for 19 months, said: “I started drinking at around 17, then going to the pub. It felt like I would always be the one who was drinking the most, and I could never remember what had happened the next day."

Her drinking continued when she had children and when her son Dusty was born in 2013 she found it had become a way of "forgetting everything for a few hours".

She tried Dry January but it was only when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2018 that she paused to think.

Irene added: "I suddenly thought, 'they’re going to open up my brain and find it all pickled in vodka'."

Her first month, sober turned into a second, then a third, and she even found time to write a book while giving up.

She said: "You have so many more hours in the day when you don’t drink, there’s so much you can achieve in that time."