People in Britain are getting drunk on an almost weekly basis, figures from a new global survey suggest.

The Global Drug Survey, which was completed by more than 120,000 people across 36 countries, found that people from the UK are more likely to get drunk than any other nation - on average, 51.1 times a calendar year.

People from USA and Canada were the next most likely to drink more often, at 50.3 and 47.9 respectively, while Chileans were the least likely to get drunk, at just 16.4 days a year.

The survey was founded in 2011 by Dr Adam Winstock, who aims to make drug use safer by sharing information about people's experiences.

It also showed that 42.5pc of British people wanted to drink less in the next year, but only 14.7pc of them would seek help to do so.

We asked people in Norwich what they made of the results.

Daniel Lorito, 22, who is from Italy, reflected the results of the survey, which suggested that Italians would be drunk less often than British people, at 30 days a year on average.

"I'd say British people drink more than us but I thought the figure would be higher to be honest," he said. "We tend to drink more quality alcohol while British people don't really seem to care. I only drink really at parties to celebrate something, maybe once a week, but I drink less than I used to. We don't really have guidelines because there isn't a huge drinking problem in Italy, but I think everyone should drink less."

While some were shocked by the figures, others took the view that adults should be able to drink however much they like.

Ian Coleman, 63 and from Ranworth, said: "It depends who you ask, personally I don't think British people are more likely to drink. I'll have a couple of beers or a glass of wine at the weekend, on a Friday and Saturday maybe. I think it's all just common sense."

Jim Barker, 37 and from Great Yarmouth, said: "I'm surprised by that data, I think people drink more often than that. I'll have a drink most days if I'm at home and that hasn't really changed over time. I think people need their own sense as drinking shouldn't be done excessively, it should be in moderation."

And Wendy Keating, 74 and from Old Catton, said: "I think British people do drink a lot and that's down to the culture but I only drink about twice a month for special occasions. I don't think the NHS should be involved, I think it's up to people themselves how much they consume."