'My children didn't know if I'd be dead or alive'

Claire Swinburn has set up a support group for women in York

A woman who struggled with alcoholism for 17 years has formed a support group to help other women.

Claire Swinburn, from York, said at her lowest point she was treated for hypothermia after falling into the River Ouse drunk.

She said her children did not know whether she would be "dead or alive when they came home from school".

Ms Swinburn said she set up Claire's Women's Club after a 14-month period of sobriety so women could "share experiences together".

Ms Swinburn made many attempts to stop drinking without help before joining a recovery programme

The mother of four said she had discovered a "taste for alcohol and its usefulness" when her youngest daughter was a newborn baby.

"I had a bottle of sherry that I'd won in a raffle and I decided one evening when she was crying away that a sherry might calm my nerves.

"I thought I'd just have a little tipple and see how things panned out and that calmed me and I could relax more, because listening to a crying baby was torturous.

"That's where it started."

Since becoming sober Ms Swinburn has set up her own dog grooming business

Ms Swinburn said after that she had increasingly used alcohol to give her the feeling she could "be who she wanted to be" and "do the things I wanted to do".

"It gave me what I needed and became my friend," she said.

It took me until my youngest was about three years old to realise I had a problem," she added.

"At that point I was on a couple of bottles of wine a day. That progressed to spirits, vodka, anything with alcohol in it."

Ms Swinburn said the impact of her alcohol dependency on her life had been dramatic.

"I lost jobs, my business, my friends. It tore my family apart. My children lost their mum and were alone.

"They never knew whether I'd be dead or alive when they came home from school."

Following several overdoses and suicide attempts she fell in the River Ouse one January and was rescued, resuscitated and suffered severe hypothermia.

"My drinking lost me my business and tore my family apart," Ms Swinburn said

Following her rescue, Ms Swinburn said she had made numerous attempts to stop drinking on her own over the years, but these had all failed.

Eventually she joined several recovery programmes in York, which saw her become "better than I've ever been".

"It was do or die and I chose to do," she said.

Following a 14-month period of abstinence she set up Claire's Women's Club which had its first meeting at the end of April.

She said the new club's first session saw "a great turnout".

"I've had so much support for it and loads of women are getting in touch to come and join in.

"Women talk to each other, make new friends and should they ever feel so low and down that they do have suicidal thoughts they have the club to lean on."

'Inspirational, kind and caring'

The club does not involve professional advisers or experts, Ms Swinburn said.

"It's just a peer-to-peer group sharing life experiences with each other in a safe environment."

Joanna Mudd, who attended the new women's club on York's Blossom Street, said she believed it had "massive potential to help lots of women with all sorts of issues".

She added: "I do wish something like this had been on offer when I was in my darker days and the very fact it’s available now might ease all manner of pain women might endure alone."

Di, who also attended the first session, said: "I sat drinking tea and talking to the most inspirational, kind and caring women who made me feel at ease but also valued."

Speaking about the reaction to the first group meeting Ms Swinburn said: "If I just help one person from feeling how I did I'm happy.

"In just one week of opening I've already helped quite a few feel a lot better than they did this time last week."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.

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