Putting people is a holding pen while they sober up is still depriving them of their liberty, and will be an expensive process, and how long until the first story about someone being wrongly incarcerated, big pay out etc etc?

Others measures to tackle the nation's love affair with drink, such as a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price - less than the tax paid on it - are set to be unveiled, but as history will tell you, getting Brits to put the bottle down isn't easy.

We could start by banning production of super-strong beers and ciders, and then tackling venues who offer promotions allowing punters, most of whom aren't even out of their teens, the chance to get paralytic for less than a tenner.

The hardest part will be a shift in attitudes. In many souther European countries, public drunkenness is still frowned upon, not posted on social networking sites along with boasts of a barely remembered night on the tiles.

We've been sating our hangover with the hair of the dog for centuries, it's about time we started a detox.