Kirklees healthworkers have joined the Dry January challenge to boost their health and raise money for charity.

Staff at Local Community Partnerships have quit the booze for 31 days as part of the national campaign and have just passed the halfway point.

Determined to complete the challenge, Locala workers said they'd already noticed the benefits for their waisitlines and their wallets.

Some are raising money for charities including Cancer Research and Leukemia Research to help them stay off the sauce.

Locala administration co-ordinator Jo Marshall has raised almost £150 so far.

She said: "I wanted to do it to prove to everyone that I could and I was hoping to make a lifestyle change and help my weightloss efforts too.

"The main benefit I’ve noticed is that I’m sleeping much better and I haven’t missed it at all.  I will still drink once it’s over but will cut down and I have now realised I can socialise without needing a drink."

Locala's lead alcohol nurse Wendy Edmonson said drink-related diseases were a growing problem.

She said: "Nationally, we’re seeing an increase in the number of deaths from alcohol-related liver disease in the under-40s

"Research has also linked alcohol to other serious conditions including throat, mouth and breast cancer, heart disease, hypertension, depression and other mental health problems.

"Taking a break not only encourages you to change your drinking habits but reduces the risk of these conditions. It also lowers your calorie intake, makes you feel more alert and energised without a hangover, and will save you money. If you’re a parent, it also sets a good example for your children.

"Being involved in Dry January helps give people a real reason to assert themselves to be able to say no to a drink. Dry January isn’t really a message about abstinence but people should drink sensibly and need to be aware of their limits."

The alcohol consumption guidelines recommend women should drink no more than two to three units of alcohol a day, and men no more than three to four units a day.

Examiner reporter Samantha Robinson is doing the Dry January challenge — see how she's getting on here