EVEN moderate drinking affects everyday memory, a study by North-East scientists has shown.

Dr Jonathan Ling, senior lecturer in psychology at Teesside University, said he found a significant increase in memory problems among people who said they drank ten to 25 units of alcohol a week.

This finding suggests that the Government weekly limits of no more than 28 units of alcohol for men and no more than 21 for women fail to take into account the effects of drink on memory.

Dr Ling said: "Staying within those limits might be okay for your liver but not necessarily for your ability to remember everyday things like family birthdays or where you put your car keys."

His research project divided 763 volunteers into four categories, depending on the amount of alcohol they consumed weekly.

Each of them was asked to fill in a questionnaire about problems with memory loss.

Those who never drank had the best memories, those who drank between one and nine units also reported no significant problems.

But volunteers who drank ten to 24 units a week said they experienced problems with memory such as beginning a train of thought which then trailed away.

Volunteers in the group who consumed the most alcohol reported the most problems with memory.

Psychologist Dr Ling said he was surprised to find memory problems among those who drank as little as five pints of beer or ten glasses of wine a week.

He plans to carry out wider research on the subject.

He said: "It would be interesting to know the effect of chronic alcohol abuse on memory. Do very heavy drinkers recover a certain amount of memory once they reduce the level of alcohol they are consuming."

To take part in the study, go to www.drugresearch.org.u