BRITS have given Dry January the elbow and turned to booze amid one of the gloomiest starts to a year.

Yet another lockdown and being cooped up with kids has combined with grim winter weather to get parents reaching for the bottle opener.

Brits have turned to booze and rejected Dry January with alcohol sales rocketing in the first weeks of January

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Brits have turned to booze and rejected Dry January with alcohol sales rocketing in the first weeks of January Credit: SnapperSK

Weekly wine sales are a third up on last year while beer sales have soared 49 per cent.

Spirits have shot up — with Waitrose reporting a 64 per hike for rum and a 56 per cent jump for tequila.

Other supermarkets say sales of cream liqueurs such as Baileys have doubled.

Despite pubs and bars being shut, nearly a third of Brits who started the month intent on going alcohol free have already fallen off the wagon.

In fact, according to a YouGov poll, 16 per cent had consumed alcohol by January 3.

Joker Matthew Knowles, 48, from London, wrote on social media: “New personal best on Dry January. Finished it in six days.”

The communications specialist told The Sun: “I can make it through most if not all of January usually.

Nearly a third of Brits who started the month alcohol free have already fallen off the wagon

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Nearly a third of Brits who started the month alcohol free have already fallen off the wagonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
A poll reveals that 16 per cent had consumed alcohol by January 3

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A poll reveals that 16 per cent had consumed alcohol by January 3Credit: Getty – Contributor
Weekly wine sales are a third up on last year and beer sales have soared 49 per cent

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Weekly wine sales are a third up on last year and beer sales have soared 49 per cent

“But stuck indoors I found myself circling back and forth to the fridge and in the end I came back to the sofa with a beer in my hand. It wasn’t the last.”

Internet sales have gone through the roof — partly due to stay-at-home drinkers but also because we are boozing so much more.

Online off-licence The Drop Store has seen sales increase eight-fold in the first 12 days of the year.

Pubs set to stay shut for FIVE MONTHS until May as Boris Johnson mulls extending lockdown and only lifting it slowly

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk

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