High earners are more likely to binge drink than those on lower incomes, figures out today suggest.

They are also more likely to drink regularly – downing alcohol on five or more days of the week.

Some 29 per cent of affluent men and 17 per cent of women drink this frequently, compared to 17 per cent of men and 11 per cent of women on lower incomes.

Higher earners drink more heavily in one go – more than twice the daily recommended limit (men drink more than eight units in one session and women drink more than six) compared to those in poorer households.

They also are more likely to have drunk alcohol at all in the last week (86 per cent of men and 72 per cent of women) compared with 54 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women on lower incomes.

The Health Survey for England 2009 showed that, overall, one in four men ( 25 per cent) and more than one in seven women (15 per cent) had drunk more than twice the recommended levels on at least one day in the last week.

There were also age differences among all incomes when it came to drinking on at least five days a week.

Just 11 per cent of men and four per cent of women aged 16 to 24 drink this frequently, rising to 33 per cent of men aged 55 to 64 and 17 per cent of women aged 55 to 74.