Southampton clubs and bars selling booze for as little as 80p a drink

With a drink in hand, she struggles to keep her footing as a male friend holds her around the waist to keep her on two feet, while another young female helps by carrying her bag.

It is a story that has become all too familiar on the streets of Southampton as city centre bars and clubs close down in the early hours of the morning, leaving their drunken customers to find their way home.

But this was the sad scene inside one of Southampton’s most popular nightspots as early as 10.45pm.

It is a sight that is repeated around many of the city’s bars and clubs, fuelled by the selling of cheap shots and spirits which are being offered up to revellers for as little as 80p.

Bottles of the alcopop Vodka Kick are stocked behind the bar at the Oceana nightclub, in West Quay Road, at the knockdown price, as well as shots of vodka-based liquor Corky’s.

And clubbers can also get their hands on single 25ml shots of vodka, Archers, Malibu, Bacardi and gin, with a mixer, for just 80p, with double measures available at £1.50.

Jagerbombs, which combine energy drinks like Red Bull with a shot of 35 per cent proof Jagermeister liquor, and are designed to be ‘downed’ in one go by party goers, are sold for £1.

The cut-price deals are all part of Oceana’s ‘OMG!’ night every Tuesday between 9pm and 3am.

But it’s not just Oceana bidding to attract midweek custom by offering up cheap alcohol.

Similar deals can be found in bars around the Bedford Place area of the city, as nightspots enter price wars to compete for the young clientele.

Level One, in Carlton Place, sells double measures of house vodka, Malibu and Archers, as well as the ‘sex on the beach’ cocktail, for £1 a piece as part of its weekly ‘Cheeky Tuesday’ event.

A promotional page for the event on social networking website Facebook boasts: “Every Tuesday Level One brings you the biggest party in Bedford Place with the cheapest prices anywhere in town! No gimmicks, No rubbish. Just big party, small price.”

Just yards down the road, Vodka Revolution sells selected drinks for £1.50 and shots for £1.

And around the corner, in Bedford Place and Vernon Walk, Orange Rooms, Pop, Buddha Lounge and Tokyo all serve up discounted booze, while the Junk nightclub in London Road offers selected drinks for £1.50.

Health chiefs have been left outraged by the prices, claiming that nightclub owners are being “irresponsible” and contributing to a growing problem of alcohol-related illnesses and injuries.

Dr Sarah Robinson, a consultant in the accident and emergency department at Southampton General Hospital, told the Daily Echo that 70 per cent of all patients admitted to A&E during peak times on Friday and Saturday nights, are treated for alcohol-related injuries.

She added: “This is irresponsible from the nightclub and goes against what the Government is trying to do in its alcohol strategy. “Binge drinking is incredibly harmful and as much as we want young people to behave responsibly when they go out, if they see ‘80p a shot’, they are not going to say no.

“We are seeing a big increase in Southampton of people suffering liver failure and chronic liver disease in their 20s, which we never used to see.

“Southampton features at the wrong end of that table on a national level, and nightclubs offering drinks this cheap isn’t helping. We need a combined approach from the licensing committees and licensees themselves to bring this to an end.”

Andrew Langford, chief executive of the British Liver Trust, based in Ringwood , added: “Using the price of alcohol as a driver of footfall is wrong in so many ways.

“While I can understand how it may be a cheap night out for many young people, it sends across the message that it’s OK to drink to excess.

“This irresponsible retailing practice underlines how we must change the way in which alcohol is marketed.

“We are facing a huge public health issue in the UK with liver disease rates increasing, with no sign of a slowdown.”

Civic and police chiefs have pledged to monitor cheap drinks promotions at nightspots across Southampton, but admitted they have no powers to put an end to the cut-price deals. Sergeant Simon Woods, from the Hampshire police’s alcohol harm reduction and licensing team, said: “We constantly monitor cheap drinks promotions as part of our work. We have no powers, though, to stop such promotions, but we do approach the premises with our concerns.

“We will then monitor the premises looking out for any increase in associated incidents, be they criminal incidents or of an antisocial nature.

“If there is an increase then we will look into them and consider any actions we may take.

“The main concerns people have are that because the drinks are cheap then problems will automatically increase. This is understandable but not always the case. A well managed club can have a cheap drinks promotion and still be a well run premises.”

Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet member for communities, said: “Southampton City Council keeps a watchful eye on all premises that sell cheap alcohol as part of their promotional packages, and will take appropriate action if there is an increase in drunkenness which causes antisocial behaviour, if people’s safety is jeopardised, or if the council receives complaints from the general public.”

Russell Quelch, general manager at Oceana, said the club has lowered its prices in order to compete with rival venues and supermarkets.

He said: “It’s competitive out there, particularly midweek. A lot of bars are doing 80p and £1 drinks now. It’s how we manage the event that is the most important thing.

“Do we want people to drink too much? No. Do we want people to have a good night? Yes. The long and short of it is that that 18 to 20-year-olds don’t have a lot of money and this allows them to go out, go clubbing and enjoy themselves at a good price.”

“As far as we are concerned, we are putting an offer on but we still operate to the same guidelines that we keep to on any other night of the week. Just because it’s 80p a drink doesn’t mean we would allow people to drink more than they would on a Friday or Saturday night.”

No one from Level One was available for comment last night.