MORE than 800 pub goers – including many from Gwent – got a free health check with their pint as part of a unique programme run by an award-winning pharmacy group and a chain of bars.

Gwent-based Mayberry Pharmacy teamed up with JD Wetherspoon to run ten health check events at pubs and bars across South East Wales.

Drinkers taking up the offer were given a blood pressure test and a consultation with a pharmacist on issues such as weight loss, giving up smoking, and adopting a healthy lifestyle.

53 percent of participants were women and 47 per cent men.

Nearly one-in-three (30 per cent) of men who took part showed signs of high blood pressure, compared to 15 per cent of women – and of those men who registered a reading for high blood pressure, 12 per cent had what was medically classified as severely high.

All participants were given cards with their readings and advised to visit their pharmacy for check-ups. “The whole purpose of this campaign in partnership with Wetherspoon was to make it easier for people to learn about their health and identify any problems,” said Paul Mayberry, managing director of Mayberry Pharmacy.