That's me, with the 'tramp juice'. Don't I look happy?

This is me after I bought a few cans of Tennent's Super and a bottle of Diamond White. Strong stuff indeed.

Normally, I'm more of a Guinness man.

I bought them from the new Tesco Express shop next to Leicester railway station for a story.

Tesco had voluntarily agreed it would sell no beers, lagers or ciders stronger than 5.5 per cent and that became a condition of the licence they were granted by Leicester City Council.

The Tennent's is an eye-watering 9 per cent and the Diamond White 7.5 per cent.

So, in the spirit of erm, Roger Cook, we had them. A big company. The Man.

I contacted the Tesco press office on Monday and we ran the story on Tuesday.

Funnily enough - and three days on from asking - I've still not heard anything from Tesco's press office.

How come?

I wanted them to make it clear whether this was all a mistake or something more cynical.

They have my mobile number and my e-mail address. Still.

In their defence, I also checked whether they were sticking to another condition of their licence. The shop opens at 6am and their idea originally was to sell alcohol as soon as they opened the doors.

Again, they volunteered to abide by a licensing condition and knocked it back to 8am.

I went in just after 6am on Monday and loitered in the alcohol section.

"Sorry, we don't serve alcohol until 8am. It's in our licence," an assistant said.

So, well done there then.

But, why anyone would want to buy alcohol at 8am is beyond me.

Is is really posh commuters stocking up on Chateau Neuf du Pape (okay, to be honest I just called out across the newsroom 'name me a posh wine') before they jump on a train for London?

Or is it people who get out of bed before dawn, raging for a drink?

But frankly high strength alcohol is nothing new.

Most places sell them and plenty of people drink them happily and without doing themselves any harm.

Plenty of shopkeepers who sell it to people who are clearly winos then have the nuts to complain to the police and us about the bad behaviour of alcoholics in their street.

Some shops I've spoken to this past year or so are choosing to not sell these products anymore.

They say there's not much profit there and (how to put this politely?) these drinks tend to be favoured by winos. Sometimes, not the most polite customers.

Selfish sometimes too.

Take a walk down certain streets in the city today and keep your eyes to the ground and - I guarantee - you will see their empties all over the place.

There's been talk of bans on the high strength stuff, but it's not going to happen is it?

So, street alcoholics who frankly don't know how to take care of themselves, will always get their hands on their favourite poison for the price of a bottle of mineral water.

Whether it's from the corner shop or a major chain.

At least, I'm guessing, Tesco Express in London Road will now have a clear conscience that at least they're not contributing to this very specific aspect of the country's drink problem.