Alcoholic reveals 'lowest ebb' as warning to others

A recovering alcoholic has recalled the time he drank a spilled pint from a "filthy" pub carpet with a straw.

Gene Davies, from Cwmaman, Rhondda Cynon Taf, said he was at his lowest ebb after developing a drink problem in his early teens.

The 50-year-old said his addiction grew as a result of performing in bands at various workingmen's clubs across south Wales.

Now five years sober, he wants to share his story to warn others.

Some 45% of men and 34% of women report drinking above the recommended guidelines, according to statistics from Public Health Wales.

Alcohol is also the cause of around 1,500 deaths a year, with the rate higher in the most deprived areas of Wales.

"Growing up in the valleys during the '80s, it was surprisingly easy to get served whilst underage," said Gene, who started out playing drums in a group called Silent Runner alongside Kelly Jones from Stereophonics.

"We'd end up necking flagons of lager while the bar staff turned a blind eye, and the rock and roll showman in me probably meant I put away more than most."

He said he would stash bottles around the family home so his parents wouldn't realise the extent of his problem, often taking long walks alone in order to indulge his habit.

Eventually kicked out of university for non-attendance and fired from a number of odd jobs, he continued to throw himself into his music.

"In about 2004 I was in a band called Psychic Spies and we were due to play some pub in Neath," said Gene.

"During the evening a mate of mine dropped his full pint glass on the floor, so I said to him, 'You can't waste that' and marched to the bar to get a straw.

"I then proceeded to get down on all fours and suck up the contents from the filthiest, mankiest looking carpet you've ever seen.

"And to make matters worse I already had a pint bought and waiting for me on the table.

"There were a lot of aghast faces on the people standing nearby, I can tell you."

At his worst Gene revealed he was drinking about 16 cans of lager a day, while his weight had ballooned to about 15 stone (95.2kg).

"I was working night shifts as a shelf stacker at the local supermarket back then and would often turn up there off my face too," he added.

However, it would take years, and the subsequent failure of his marriage, before what Gene called his "moment of epiphany" - drunkenly falling out of a bunkbed and practically scalping himself on the chest of drawers below.

"I'd been kicked out of the house because of my drinking and was lodging in a mate's spare room," said Gene.

"I got up to go to the toilet in the early hours and quite forgot I was six feet up in the air.

"I ended up hitting the cabinet hard, completely smashing it. And when I looked at my face in the bathroom mirror it was covered in blood.

"The skin along my hairline had come loose and I could actually see my skull underneath."

Gene spent several hours in hospital getting stitched up, but he still has the selfie taken later that same day - two black, eyes, cut nose and blood-matted hair - to remind him of the fall that caused his life to change for the better.

Since then he hasn't touched so much as a drop of alcohol.

Now working at a newsagents and off licence, he said he can recognise familiar tell-tale signs of addiction in those who regularly come in to buy booze.

"It's the same faces all the time; morning, noon and night - some even ask me my advice on how to quit," he said.

"I'm never sure what to say to them though.

"Everyone is different and only they can know when it's their time to stop.

"They just need to decide if it's something they can do themselves or with the help of others."

Has he ever been tempted to relapse himself?

"No, from the moment I stopped I just realised I was done with all that," he said.

"I don't miss it a bit - not the taste and certainly not the hangovers.

"Now I just want to be the best father to my little boy - who's seven years old and my whole world.

"I also want to be the best musician I can be and, since quitting, my playing's drastically improved - in fact, it's gone through the roof."

Gene recalled an old acquaintance recently coming into the shop where he works and recognising him from his drinking days.

"He asked me if I was still partying, so I told him 'no' and that I'd been sober for five years.

"He paused, smiled and then replied, 'Still, you gave it a bloody good go though, didn't you'?"

"And I thought, 'You're right, I did'. I'm just glad those times are behind me now."

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story, the BBC Action Line has links to organisations which can offer support and advice.