A grieving sister is calling for tighter controls on delivery apps after her alcoholic sibling spent up to £1,500 a month on booze delivered straight to her door before her tragic death.
Mother-of-two Zoe Hughes, 35, was found lifeless at the bottom of her stairs on July 24, 2023, having battled alcoholism for several years while trying to cope with personal issues, her family said.
But it later transpired the problem had intensified as alcohol became increasingly easy to obtain through delivery services.
According to her sister, Alexandria Hughes, 31, from Lincolnshire, Zoe was spending between £1,000 and £1,500 a month ordering alcohol and cigarettes through apps such as Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats in the months before her death.
Alexandria has now launched a petition urging ministers to introduce strict limits on the platforms to stop vulnerable people easily accessing large quantities of alcohol.
‘Over three to four years, she went from being drink-dependent to a full-blown alcoholic, in between therapies and rehabs,’ she said.
After her death, Ms Hughes said she discovered messages on her sister’s phone suggesting delivery drivers had contacted her outside of orders.
She claims some drivers used the contact details provided during deliveries to send unsolicited messages, gifts and even love notes.
Alexandria Hughes (left) has launched a petition after her sister Zoe (right) spent up to £1,500 a month on booze delivered directly to her home before her death
Zoe Hughes – pictured – had struggled with alcoholism for several years as she attempted to cope with personal issues
‘Just Eat’s own terms say alcohol should not be handed to someone who is already drunk, yet there’s no real process to monitor that,’ she said.
‘Alcohol has always been widely available, but now it can be delivered straight to your door.
‘If someone is intoxicated in a pub, they wouldn’t be served. So why are delivery apps allowed to do it?’
Ms Hughes is urging the government either to ban alcohol sales through delivery services or introduce strict safeguards, including purchase limits, stronger age checks and monitoring systems.
She also believes there is a wider lack of support for people struggling with addiction.
‘I know people begging to go to rehab but they can’t get a funded place,’ she said.
‘So they’re left drinking at home with very little help available. Gamblers can block themselves from betting sites. Why isn’t there an option for people to declare they’re an alcoholic so they don’t receive alcohol offers on these apps?’
Her sister’s addiction was also linked to other health struggles.
‘Addictions often go hand in hand with mental health issues,’ Ms Hughes said. ‘Zoe also had bulimia and anorexia. It’s about control. People say it’s an escape, but it’s not always that simple.’
Despite her illness, she said her sister remained a devoted mother.
‘I’m biased, but ask anyone – she was genuinely the kindest parent,’ she said.
‘Even in the depths of her alcoholism, she never forgot birthdays or sending heartfelt messages. She loved her children with everything she had. All she ever wanted was to be happy.’
Ms Hughes hopes the Change.org petition will raise awareness and lead to changes in how alcohol is sold online.
‘You wouldn’t be served three or four bottles of wine at a pub if you were clearly intoxicated,’ she said. ‘Why is it different with delivery?’
An Uber Eats spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry to hear about these tragic events in 2023.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our community is our priority. We work with Drinkaware to implement alcohol safety measures, including signposting support resources and the ability to restrict platform access for customers where necessary.
‘Every alcohol delivery requires the courier to verify the recipient’s date of birth using physical ID and conduct a sobriety check before completing the order.’
Uber added that the events took place several years ago and that it had not been provided with sufficient details to investigate the account or confirm the alleged courier behaviour on its platform.
A Deliveroo spokesperson said: ‘The welfare of our customers is of utmost importance to us.
‘All retailers selling alcohol on the platform must follow the same licensing and regulatory rules as in-store sales, and age verification checks are mandatory.
‘Our specialist account suspension or deactivation policy is enforced when we are notified of a customer safety concern.’
A Just Eat spokesperson said: ‘We take these matters extremely seriously and have robust processes to ensure alcohol delivered through our platform is done so legally and responsibly.
‘We can also provide additional support by blocking accounts or addresses, and we encourage anyone with concerns about a loved one to contact our customer service team.
‘While drivers are independent contractors, we take any reports of misconduct seriously and will remove drivers from the platform where appropriate.
‘We are urgently investigating the information that has been shared with us.’
The warning comes as experts say Britain is facing a ‘hidden epidemic’ of alcoholism among older adults.
Latest NHS figures show that 23 per cent of women aged 55–64 drink more than the recommended 14 units of alcohol a week – a level linked to a significantly higher risk of cancer and alcohol dependence.
Doctors say many people fail to recognise they have a problem because they are not yet physically dependent on alcohol and therefore do not experience withdrawal symptoms such as shaking.
One tool commonly used by clinicians to identify so-called ‘functioning alcoholics’ is the CAGE questionnaire – a four-question screening test developed in 1984 that asks patients whether they feel the need to Cut down, feel Annoyed by criticism of their drinking, feel Guilty about alcohol, or need an Eye-opener drink first thing in the morning.
Answering ‘yes’ to two or more questions may indicate a potential drinking problem.
Official data also show alcohol deaths have surged in recent years, reaching more than 10,000 in England and Wales in 2022 – around a third higher than before the pandemic.
