Man banned from drinking strong lager downs six pints of water and dies

A man banned from drinking Stella Artois at his local downed six pints of water in protest – and died. Heavy drinker Tony Holtam, 47, collapsed on the floor in a corner of the pub “looking like he was having a fit”.

Drinking so much water so quickly had left him with dangerously low levels of sodium in his bloodstream, an inquest heard yesterday.

Locals regularly saw the forestry worker knock back his favourite strong lager at a rate of five pints an hour. But he had a reputation for “acting up” afterwards and finally pub landlady Sian Davies refused to serve him with the 5% ABV brew.



Ms Davies, who runs the Mackworth Arms in Bridgend, South Wales, said: “He used to get in a bit of a mess with Stella so I would only allow him to drink weaker lagers.

“On the day he died Tony came in and only drank water. He was in his corner watching the Grand Prix and it looked like he was having a fit. He just went rigid and was clutching his chest.”

Pathologist Alan Rees said low sodium levels coupled with underlying health problems were probably to blame for his death. Verdict: Accident.