A father with a booze and gambling addiction who was drinking four bottles of wine a day was arrested for arson when he set fire to his dream family home after his marriage broke down and he lost his job. Dad-of-three Daniel Fincham realised he had hit rock bottom as he sat in a prison cell after being arrested for trying to burn down his family home when he arrived there to try and save his 10-year marriage but found it was empty.
Daniel, now 39, said his complicated relationship with alcohol started when he was just 15, describing his first sip as "love at first drink" - but that first drink would lead to a decades-long struggle with booze that saw him lose everything. Initially drinking only at weekends, Daniel, from Hale, Greater Manchester, would soon go on to load up on gin and tonics before "skipping" into work, the Manchester Evening News reports.
His dependency on alcohol spiralled when he went away to university, saying booze gave him a rush of adrenaline and the confidence to say and do things he wanted to do but couldn't when he was sober. After he graduated, he went travelling around the world, spending time in Asia, Australia and New Zealand before settling down with his then-girlfriend in Denmark.
