Only one in every five people with alcohol dependency in Herefordshire is attending any treatment programme to stop drinking. Mental health and alcohol charities have called on the Government to increase funding for these services and make the process to apply for support easier.

The latest figures from Public Health England show that 16% of alcohol-dependent residents in the county went for any therapy in 2016-17 - compared to 19% on average in England. This proportion was better two years earlier when 19% received psychological treatment.

Among those who attended therapy in Herefordshire, 21.4% completed the treatment successfully, according to the latest figures, from 2016.

Patients are considered successful if they do not need further medical support for six months after completing the therapy.

The rate of recovery in Herefordshire was below the average for England, where 38.7% of the patients quit drinking thanks to the therapy. See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now