WAKING up with a pounding head, Claire Taylor caught sight of the designer shopping bags littered around her bed. She cautiously peered into them, trying to work out what she had bought, while feeling sick as she totted up the cost. It was a scenario she knew all too well. A couple of drinks over lunch with the girls would turn into a few more. From there, she would wander off for a spot of shopping, splashing out thousands on her credit card in London’s designer boutiques.

Come evening, she would head out for the night, polishing off a couple of bottles of champagne, followed by ten mojitos. While Claire’s life seemed privileged, she was alcohol dependent — and in 2014 she was declared bankrupt, owing £250,000. Speaking as Dry January came to a close, the 59-year-old events manager says: “My life was carnage. I was out of control but telling myself it was fun. “I’d wake up in the morning with a crushing hangover and feel sick about the money I’d spent.

“But I’d escape from those feelings by drinking more, and then I’d shop again. “I once walked into Roberto Cavalli and put £6,000 worth of designer dresses on my card when tipsy after a bottle of champagne. Another time, I bought eight pairs of designer shoes, costing £3,000 in total, in about half an hour. “It was done on impulse because I wasn’t thinking straight after drinking. “I’d row with my husband about my excessive spending. I’d tell myself it had to stop, but I didn’t.

“I feel ashamed and embarrassed about my behaviour now. “Far from stopping me, shop assistants in posh stores would often provide more fizz and encourage me to shop.”. One survey revealed that more than 55 per cent of us shop when under the influence, spending £4.46billion a year. More than one in four says that clothes are the first thing they buy. But Claire didn’t stop at clothes. She spent thousands on sunglasses, shoes and handbags.

She also spent £25,000 on a trip to New York and a cruise round the Bahamas with her kids, Harleigh, now 31, and Ollie, 28. It sounds glamorous, but as the mum-of-two candidly admits: “Alcohol dependency never is. I wasn’t on the street swigging out of a vodka bottle, but my drinking put me in dangerous situations. I let my kids down and ultimately became bankrupt. “Now I’ve stopped drinking, I’m so much happier.

“I’m there for my children, I’m no longer in debt and only spend within my means. I’ve gone from a size 16 to 12 and look 20 years younger.”. Claire’s drinking crept up on her over the years. The occasional boozy lunch with her then husband, a businessman, followed by a splurge in the shops escalated over time. She says: “He sold his business in 2002 and suddenly we had a lot of money. "What was once a treat became a habit as my drinking increased. When I shopped, there was no thought about what I needed, only what I wanted.

“If I saw a dress or jumper I liked I’d buy it in every colour. Some purchases I loved — I’ve still got all of the Roberto Cavalli dresses. “Other times, I would put them to the back of my wardrobe as I didn’t even like them. “I once went through my cupboard and found 50 bottles of unopened perfume. I had no recollection of buying them. I loved sunglasses and would buy dozens at a time.”.

In 2011, Claire’s marriage came to an end after 19 years. She says: “We’d grown apart and it had become toxic, so we split. Looking back, I see my drinking played a part, but at the time I was in denial.”. Claire moved into a rental property and shared custody of the children with her ex. She says: “Far from it being a wake-up call, I got worse. “I was struggling emotionally after my divorce. Between 2011 and 2014 I was living off borrowed money — the bank let me keep spending as we had properties and investments between us.”.

By 2014, Claire had racked up £250,000 in debt. She says: “I’d have three-day drinking binges, recover for four days and then it would start again. “One night, shortly after my divorce, I blew £1,700 buying drinks for all my friends. They never worried about my spending as they spent lots, too. “Another time, I was so drunk I decided to stay in a Mayfair hotel and spent £1,200 for a suite, just for me. I didn’t make it to the bedroom, passing out on the sofa.

“I booked holidays with friends and then didn’t make it to the airport. “I’ve lost count of the amount of flights I had to rebook, costing hundreds of pounds. I lurched from one disaster to another. I was banned from my favourite restaurant for being obnoxious. “I was once so drunk, the taxi driver had to carry me into my house. I shudder at the thought of what could have happened.”. But the thing that pains Claire most about those years is the effect it had on her kids.