A recovering alcoholic who at his lowest ebb drank more than a bottle of gin a day is set to open his own hotel in Tenerife - less than 12 months after his last drink.

Three-times married Harry Hopkinson, from Stapenhill, decided to pack his bags and head off to the Canary Island hotspot to start a new life after giving up alcohol for good.

And after just a few months over there he has started to renovate an old house to transform it into a hotel which will be called Villa Claire de Navidad.

The 63-year-old first shared his story with the Burton Mail when he celebrated six months sober at the start of his new life in Tenerife.

Harry described himself as a chronic alcoholic who found himself facing a bleak future after doctors told him there was nothing they could do unless he got help himself.

Harry's wake-up call came when he hit a lamppost while driving on the A50 which led to a driving ban - he started attending AA meetings followed by a drink-driving awareness course and he has not looked back since.

Harry Hopkinson outside his new hotel in Tenerife

Harry, formerly of Frederick Street, in Stapenhill, used money he had received after being made redundant from his job as a conservation and design planner in Cheshire, and the sale of his house in Burton, to start his new life overseas.

The father-of-one is hoping to help others as he works with authorities in Tenerife to introduce tourists to the north part of the island ahead of opening his new hotel, which is on the site of three houses, for the summer season.

Harry said: "The real Tenerife is on the other side of the island and it is absolutely beautiful, a tropical paradise. I want to provide somewhere that people can get all the information they need on the island as tourists tend to stay in the same spot.

"Public transport is very cheap but tourists are frightened of using it so they stay on a beach or at a bar. I want to bring visitors to the north of the island and I have faith in what I am doing for general tourism by opening a rural hotel.

"I know they will come and I am convinced they will. It is all part of this amazing world that I have found myself in and I cannot believe that it is happening to me.

"I want to give back and give people help and support the disadvantaged on the island. I am hoping to start a housing project for them as there are thousands of old, empty buildings littering the island.

Villa Claire de Navidad is the name of Harry Hopkinson's hotel in Tenerife

"I have found myself an expert in tourism through being a tourist as you know what you want and what is missing. I applied that to what I have seen in Tenerife."

Harry wants to create a boutique hotel for his guests to enjoy while making the most of the island as well as working with the government to improve living conditions and the tourist experience.

Harry revealed he had also found God while creating his new life in Tenerife and hopes that his story will act as an inspiration for others.

"I can prove that I know more about the islands than the tourist information centres. One big thing is I am not doing this on my own as I have a big friend who is helping me. I have found God and now there are no grey clouds, just silver linings.

"I am living proof that God exists. I am so excited about my own life that I want to share it and that is after being in the gutter just 12 months ago. I was nearly dead and God is a big part of me now.

"I am ashamed of my drinking but I am proud of myself for what I am doing now. I realise now that loneliness was the cause of my alcoholism."

Harry also has dreams of helping educate young people by teaching them English and giving them work experience of working in visitor attractions.

Harry Hopkinson, 63, is starting a new life in Tenerife by opening a hotel

Harry's first taste of alcohol was at a young age but it was when he was married and had drink around the house that his problems got worse.

He would have the occasional drink in the evening but this gradually increased until he was pouring himself bigger measures than his wife.

Harry met his third wife while still married to his second and says he took comfort in drink because of what he was doing. At the same time he was made redundant from his job as a conservation and design planner in Cheshire.

The pain he caused his wife and daughter accelerated his drinking and he then moved to Stapenhill to be close to his third wife. They eventually married but it was not to last and he again found himself alone.

In his darkest days, Harry would drink a bottle-and-a-half of gin a day - buying from different shops so store assistants did not know how much he was drinking.

Harry said: "I fell in love at first sight with Tenerife and now I feel like I am married to the place."