Christian alcohol awareness charity Hope UK is challenging Christians to give up alcohol for Lent as part of its Thirst for Life campaign.

Thirst for Life began in 2006, encouraging people to go for 40 days without alcohol during Lent to stimulate fresh thinking and debate on Britain's booze culture and give them the opportunity to assess their dependency on alcohol consumption, particularly in social settings.

Since then, thousands of people have gone alcohol free over Lent, with many surprised by the results.

One participant in Thirst for Life 2007 reported back to Hope UK, "Feeling so much better, for the first time in about five years I'm sleeping properly and feel as if I'm rejoining the human race."

A Thirst for Life participant in 2006 said, "I must admit I feel better, less tired and it's such a great feeling to wake up on Sunday morning not feeling I should be in intensive care."

With bad news about binge drinking hitting the headlines regularly, Thirst for Life is offering people the opportunity to experience a life that no longer relies on alcohol to fill in the gaps.

For the first time this year, Hope UK is giving people the choice of taking part in the initiative during Lent or over a different 40-day period more convenient to them.

Hope UK has produced free information cards about Thirst for Life, including a credit-card size progress checker. The Thirst for Life website (www.thirstforlife.org) also contains a self audit test to help people check their drinking levels.