Home Office figures show that the county has an unrivalled density of bars and restaurants, with 63 licenced premises per 10,000 inhabitants, compared with the national average of 23.

It also boasts 15 off-licences for the same number of heads of population, against the national average of nine.

The Welsh region of Powys, the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and Cumbria also did well with more than 40 licenced premises per 10,000.

London is almost dry by comparison, with just 12 drinking establishments per 10,000.

Other understocked areas include the West Midlands with 13, Tyne and Wear with 15, South Yorkshire with 16, Northamptonshire and South Wales tied on 17 and West Yorkshire with 18.

Bucks does badly

The Home Office report said the greatest concentrations of watering holes are in areas that rely heavily on tourism.

Areas such as London that figured badly in the averages were also found to be deficient in off-licences.

Outer London, south and east Yorkshire, the West Midlands and south-east England were also well down the off-licence rankings.

But Buckinghamshire is the hardest place to find an off-licence, with six per 10,000 people. It also falls below the national average for bars and restaurants with just 19.

The good news is that there are 8% more pubs in England and Wales than there were 10 years ago, bringing the total up to a respectable 78,000.

Restaurants have done even better, with a jump of 14% to 21,000, while numbers of off-licences have not increased at all.