'I used to binge on two bottles of vodka a day - what I saw when I moved homes changed me'

A woman who used to binge on vodka every day says a stash of empty bottles helped save her life.

Abi Feltham, 35, started drinking cider as a teen in parks with her mates to cope with the death of her father when she was three.

She said she drank alcohol every single day from the age of 14, and things got worse when she began a 10-year backpacking stint.

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Working in bars helped her conceal her habit - and drink from when she "woke up to when I would pass out in the evening".

At her worst, she was drinking two 700ml bottles of whiskey and beers a day. Covid struck - and all her friends who she drank with lost their jobs, prompting Abi to return home to live with her family in Berkshire.

Back in her childhood room, initially, she kept drinking but she had a moment of realisation three weeks after her return.

While clearing six empty bottles of wine and beer hidden down the side of her bed into a binbag she had a flashback to doing the exact same when she was 16.

She gave up booze immediately that day in April 2020 - and hasn't touched a drop since. Abi went completely "cold turkey" for 18 months without any professional help and then sought professional help.

Now she's got a stable job, relationship and home. Abi, a social media manager, said: "I would drink a lot. When it was at its worse I was going through a couple bottles of spirits a day.

"I would drink from the moment I woke up to when I would pass out in the evening. I have always struggled with mental health issues. I had a lot of trauma from a young age. I had a lot of loss and drinking was the only way to cope."

Talking of her realisation, and moving