Drinking pals give up alcohol in charity bid

A group of friends have chosen to support soldiers in a unique way – by staying off booze for a whole year.

Joe Whitelegg, Phil Morrison and Bob Steele will all stick to their Year Off The Beer pledge in the aim of raising thousands of pounds for Help for Heroes, the St Helens Star reports.

Mr Whitelegg is joining the army's Royal Engineers this summer and says the hardest part will probably be special occasions such as Christmas and New Year's Eve.

In honour of their promise, they are even set to take blood tests to show that they have not touched a drop of alcohol.

Local business have supported the trio, who sipped their last pint after making the decision on St George's Day.

"Our landlady is very supportive but we think she's going to miss the takings from us.

"We've promised to still go in and drink orange juice," Mr Whitelegg said.

Another impressive feat was undertaken by Frankie Martin from Nottingham, who sang in pubs around the UK every day for an entire year in honour of the charity, the Wiltshire Gazette & Herald reported.

Posted by Simon Williams