Receiving an invite for Christmas drinks, faced with endless discounts in the local off-licence, being offered a glass of mulled wine – all scenarios many would class as a bit of festive fun, unless you're a recovering alcoholic.

Tommy Robertson, from Southborough, knows about this all too well. He's spent most of his life battling alcoholism but has managed to get back on track with the help of Kent charity, the Kenward Trust.

However, after spending nearly three years without drinking, he still sees the festive period as a battle.

The 49-year-old said: “With so much alcohol being televised and so many people you see on the street, drinking and having parties, I find at Christmas saying to myself 'when this one is over I may reward myself with a little drink' but I know exactly where that would take me.

“I go to meetings and I reach out to people for help at Christmas time and New Year. It’s very difficult because there are so many bargains in supermarkets, everywhere you go there’s alcohol. It’s just fighting to buy it.”

Tommy first realised he had an addiction when he was 16. Born in Scotland and given good prospects thanks to his millionaire father, there was no clear trigger for him to find comfort in alcohol – but he did.

After four years of alcohol abuse, he managed to get clean and settled down with a wife, with whom he had two children.

“I used to drink a bottle of vodka and jump in the car and say to myself the next morning, when my car was all smashed, that somebody had stolen my car - but nobody had stolen my car" - Tommy

However, when his partner died 10 years later, it caused Tommy to relapse and he believes it was at that point his life spiralled out of control.

He said: “When I used to drink I used to wake up in police stations and not even know why I was there. I used to blackout every time I was drinking and I didn’t know what I had done during that blackout.

"I could have killed somebody, I could have been drink-driving, I just lost total recollection of where my night had gone.

“I used to drink a bottle of vodka and jump in the car and say to myself the next morning, when my car was all smashed, that somebody had stolen my car - but nobody had stolen my car.

"I just didn’t realise what had happened. I didn’t realise if I’d hit any car or hit anybody on the road."

He added: “I haven’t seen my children for years. My wife died of cancer and she didn’t even drink, I lost my parents, I had no friends, I lost everything, I just didn’t want to live at all.”

Tommy spent nearly 20 years behind bars.

He entered prison an alcoholic and unfortunately for him, he left an alcoholic.

"I just didn’t want to live at all. Kenward gave me the chance to get out of the problems I was having in my life" - Tommy

Soon after in 2010 he threw himself off London Bridge and into the River Thames but was pulled out.

He then spent six months in a mental institution before seeking help from the Kenward Trust.

He now lives in Kenward House in Southborough which involves him sharing the property with four other men who are also in recovery from an addiction.

He believes those who rescued him from drowning in the Thames weren’t the only ones who saved his life.

He said: “I went through Kenward Trust to sort my life out.

"I just didn’t want to live at all. Kenward gave me the chance to get out of the problems I was having in my life.

"I just couldn’t cope. Now, I’ve got a family, a three-year-old kid and a lovely girlfriend who doesn’t take drink or drugs. I’ve got a life now and that’s all due to the Kenward Trust.”

The Yalding-based charity offers health advice, projects and residential drug and alcohol recovery services to people living in the county.

Just like Tommy, there are many alcoholics and recovering alcoholics who turn to them for help, particularly at Christmas.

In fact, the organisation has revealed they receive around 50% more calls during the festive period, compared to the rest of the year.

Angela Painter, Kenward Trust’s chief executive said: “Christmas time is often about families, it’s often when people are remembering times they’ve had in the past.

“It makes a difference if people are there to realise someone might be struggling a bit, that makes a massive difference. Just be sensitive when everyone’s passing around the drinks that someone might not want to do that” - Angela Painter

"The reality is perhaps when there’s been a life event or something distressing or upsetting then these days people do tend to turn to alcohol.

“For some people that’s when their social drinking suddenly tips over into becoming a problem."

She added: “At the point that people realise that, that’s when they will, in the positive situations, pick up the phone and talk to us.

"What we can do is often signpost people to where they can get help very quickly because it’s a very courageous thing for people to do.”

Ms Painter feels it’s not just people battling with an alcohol addiction that have a responsibility to deal with the problem, especially when spending time with loved ones over Christmas.

She said: “It does really help if there’s some sensitivity and there’s non-alcoholic drinks and alternatives available.

“It makes a difference if people are there to realise someone might be struggling a bit, that makes a massive difference. Just be sensitive when everyone’s passing around the drinks that someone might not want to do that.”

Figures from Kent County Council show the number of people in structured treatment for alcohol as their primary dependence in 2012 and 2013 was 1737 – that is down from 1900 people in 2008 and 2009.

KCC's interim director for public health, Andrew Scott-Clark, said: “We’ve been doing a lot of work to get alcoholpathways in place right from making sure GPs are very aware of what to do, right through to our hospitals and making sure they’re referring people to the right services.

According to national research, it is estimated 5,109 people in the county are expected to be showing moderate or severe dependence.

Mr Scott-Clark believes the issue is still a huge concern. He said: “The worry that we have is that the majority of people drinking alcohol are unaware of the harmful effects that alcohol can have.

He added: “Please seek support, the services are there ready and waiting. Just think very carefully about how much you are drinking.”

It’s a plea Tommy wants to reinforce for alcoholics feeling how he did for more than two decades. He said:“There is help out there in Kent, you’ve just got to have the courage to ask for help.”

If you want to get help for an alcohol-related problem you can call the Kenward Trust on 01622 814 187

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