William Hague used to drink up to 14 pints of beer a day when he was a teenager, he claims.

In an interview for GQ magazine, Mr Hague said he drank while delivering supplies to working men's clubs in South Yorkshire for his father's business, Hague's Soft Drinks.

"Anyone who thinks I used to spend my holidays reading political tracts should have come with me for a week," he said as he recalled his summer job between the ages of 15 and 21.

"We used to have a pint at every stop - well the driver's mate did, not the driver, thankfully and we used to have about ten stops in a day."

Mr Hague, who now keeps fit with judo practice, added: "It's probably horrifying, but we used to do that then go home for tea and then go out in the evening to the pub," taking the daily total up to 14 pints.

But his memories were met with a measure of scepticism by people in his home town of Rotherham.

Terry Glossop, 47, assistant manager of the Angel, said: "Some of the old boys have been coming in here for donkey's years and no one can remember Hague coming in for as much as a half a lager.

"He worked for his father's soft drinks company and was known as Billy Fizz and Billy the Pop. The idea of him sinking 14 pints is laughable."

David Hargreaves, 54, a drinker in the nearby County Borough Hotel, said: "I think his memory might have got confused by a couple of sherries."

Alcohol concern groups pointed out that the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition's beer consumption was up to seven times the recommended daily alcohol limit for men of four units - or two pints of beer.

PR guru Max Clifford claimed the interview was part of a deliberate attempt to toughen up his image.

"William Hague is trying to get away from the image of the sweet, precocious, 16-year-old cherub who stood up at the Tory Party conference," he said.

Comment - Page 10