More than half of Britons ignore the government's safe drinking limits and consume more alcohol than they should, a poll reveals.

Among those with skilled jobs, 55% said they exceeded the recommended levels either slightly or by a lot, compared with 46% of those in unskilled jobs. Those aged 25 to 34 are most likely to ignore the official advice: 61% said they exceeded the limits, followed by 59% of those aged between 18 and 24.

Just 23% of all those questioned in the YouGov survey for the British Society of Gastroenterology said they always kept to the limits – of 21 units a week for men and 14 for women. At a national level, 15% said they drank to calm their nerves and relax –which rose to 26% in London.