Council chiefs are hoping that the New Year outlook is dry after challenging people to go through January without touching booze.

Wirral Council is backing a national Alcohol Concern campaign to encourage people to go "dry" for the whole month.

Councillor Chris Meaden, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “’Dry January’ is a challenge which I’d ask everyone to consider taking on.

"Alcohol is so ingrained within many of the things that we do - it would be fascinating for people to see they can still do those things without drinking being involved.

"The evidence from last year suggests that giving up for a month changes people’s drinking habits permanently with them likely to consume less as a result, which is a fantastic outcome."

To date, nearly 700 people locally have signed up to take part.

A panel of experts, including doctors, dentists, nutrition specialists and fitness experts are also giving their support to the ‘Dry January’ campaign.

Every Tuesday and Friday lunchtime during January an expert will take part in an online session on the Dry January Facebook page and Twitter feed to offer support, advice and encouragement to those who are taking part.

The Facebook page is www.facebook.com/DryJanuary while it can be found on Twitter by following @DRYJANUARY

Emily Robinson, director of campaigns at Alcohol Concern said: “Lots of people are drinking a bit too much, too often and this challenge offers the chance to break some habits and reset our drinking patterns."

The campaign is being backed by the charity The Social Partnership Response (Wirral’s advice service for young people), Wirral Council’s Sports Development team, Wirral Community NHS Trust, Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust, addiction treatment charities Arch Initiatives and Phoenix Futures and Merseyside Police.