Jon Bellamy spoke with an ex-alcoholic & a Senior Legal Adviser

Jonathan: That's fantastic. Let me bring in John Hayes now. John, tell us a little bit about your story then, how do you connect with this?

John Hayes: Well, I was brought up in a Christian home so mine was completely different. There was no drink whatsoever in the home where I was brought up. That didn't make me a Christian of course, no more than being born in a garage would make me a car. I too had to become a Christian, which I did. I had to repent of my sin. That was a long time ago. Over fifty years ago. I worked for forty odd years in the magistrate's court and I've seen what alcohol particularly and drugs, does to people.

Jonathan: Unpack that slightly; in terms of just the experience that you've seen there.

John Hayes: People say that seventy five percent of people that do prison are there because of alcohol related offences, with drugs coming up there. You could see it was ruining people's lives and my heart just went out to them as a Christian. I wanted to do something to help them but I didn't know what I could do. Say three four years ago God laid it on my heart to get together with John and to write this book. And God's using us now in amazing ways we never could imagine. We've been and already visited nine prisons. We've got seven more booked over the next few months. And we get the opportunity to go and speak to the men in prison.

Jonathan: So your story is very relevant for the seventy five percent of people in prison I imagine. What kind of response are you getting from the prisons?

John Hayes: Brilliant. Yeah. A few weeks ago we were in a prison in Leicestershire and we had twenty men there, mostly lifers and we had a great evening. Not a prison officer in sight and we just had a great evening. We tell them our story and we tell them how they can be changed. We get some brilliant testimony, questions. It's absolutely out of this world. If you'd said to me a year ago that we'd be doing this, going to prisons, I'd of just laughed; in fact one of the men said to me, what do you envisage yourself doing in five years time". I said I haven't a clue. I said I've no idea. He said you don't know. I said no I've no idea. Cause if you'd asked me a year ago would I be sat here now, I'd of said no.

Jonathan: Now you've both written this book, Alcohol Thriller or Killer. Who is it for particularly? I mean, is it something particularly that you're looking to take into prisons or is it a wider field.

John Hayes: No, we didn't write it for that purpose; that came afterwards. We got the opportunity to get people to sponsor books and we've sent letters out to lots and lots of people. People have sponsored books so that we can place them free of charge in various prisons who ask for them. We've written to all the prisons, almost all the prisons in the UK and if they ask for books we send them books.

Jonathan: People can buy copies of the book just for themselves from Cross Rhythms Direct for only £6.99. If anyone wants to contact you with what you're doing into prisons and stuff how do they get in touch with you?

John Hayes: Well people can contact me by email jandd.hayes@googlemail.com

Jonathan: Fantastic. Final question for you John Cartledge; lots of people reading this might have the occasional drink and they might be saying I can handle it and there's nothing wrong with having a drink in moderation. What do you think to that?

John Cartledge: The book Jon doesn't tell people they cannot drink. It does tell them that they must examine themselves with respect to the weaker brother and that's all I would say, to examine themselves. If it's a problem then they shouldn't touch it. You must have the weaker brother in mind you know.

Jonathan: Your drinking could affect somebody else in terms of being like a stumbling block?

John Cartledge: Well if somebody sees me drinking and says well John Cartledge drinks so it must be OK. You know something like that. Yeah, could be a stumbling block.