Pubs are charging up to 60p more for a soft drink than a pint of beer, a Sunday Mirror survey reveals. A pint of standard bitter is cheaper than an equivalent amount of non-alcoholic drink such as cola and lemonade in almost half of Britain's pubs. One city centre bar was charging £2.60 for a pint of orange juice - when its bitter was just £2. Our researchers went to 17 pubs in Plymouth, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester and compared the price of bitter and lager with a pint of orange juice or lemonade. - Sunday Mirror
Supermarket chain Asda has admitted its tough alcohol sale policy may "seem mad" after it emerged that staff refused to serve a 44-year-old mother who was shopping with her teenage son. English teacher Amanda Ackroyd tried to buy a couple of bottles of wine and cider when checkout staff asked her 17-year-old son for ID. Unable to prove his age, Ms Ackroyd was told she couldn't purchase the alcohol because she "couldn't guarantee she wasn't going to pass the alcohol on to someone under age". An Asda spokeswoman defended the supermarket chain's 'Challenge 25' policy. "Although it seems mad, we don't blame our colleagues for being over-cautious," said a spokeswoman. - Sky News Online
Labour could ban Buckfast, the monk-brewed tonic wine, as part of plans to tackle Scotland's troubled relationship with drink. The party's new Alcohol Commission, due to be launched tomorrow, will consider following the lead of some European countries by imposing a legal limit of 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre of alcohol. Buckfast has a caffeine level of 375 mg/l, putting it way above the limit. Its manufacturers would either have to cut caffeine content or face a legal ban under the new proposals. Scientific research has linked the consumption of high levels of alcohol and caffeine contained in drinks like Buckfast with erratic and risk-taking behaviour. - The Scotsman
Guy Ritchie is opening a British pub in New York - a ten-minute taxi ride from his former wife Madonna's apartment. The move will help the Sherlock Holmes director to maintain ties with their son Rocco, nine, and David Banda, four, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006. Ritchie, 41, will recreate his London pub The Punch Bowl in New York's trendy Tribeca area. - Mail On Sunday
And finally…
Bride Valerie Hill and groom Stefan Kelly held a 48-hour booze up at their wedding - as their previous partners didn't drink. The couple, from Bristol, had 18 real ales on tap. Val, 57, said "My ex hated the smell of beer on me." And Stefan, 48, added "The reception was to make up for all those years we hardly had so much as a shandy." - Sunday Mirror