[0] Alex knows best, George.

ALEX Best took booze-scare husband George to the supermarket yesterday on the first day of his Spanish holiday.

When the pair emerged they had all the basics for a sunshine break - water, groceries, plenty of milk - but not a drop of alcohol.

Asked if it was wise to holiday in Spain, famous for its cheap booze, George joked: "Have you seen the price of drinks here lately?"

But the couple are staying in a recovering alcoholic's nightmare.

Puerto Banus on the Costa del Sol is full of bars, clubs, and restaurants where it's easily possible to drink round the clock. There are five bars alone within a minute's stroll of George's apartment.

And inside there is another reminder of booze - a hideous pink-and-gold 1970s-style cocktail cabinet standing in one corner. According to the complex's management, it is empty.

Yesterday the 54 year old again denied he had been found drunk in a park near his London home last week, though he has admitted to drinking a couple of glasses of champagne. As the temperature soared to 40 degrees centigrade - enough to make anyone work up a thirst - George insisted: "I'm here to relax with my wife for four weeks.."

He is believed to have fallen off the wagon after a row with Alex, 28.

It was his first alcoholic drink for 18 weeks after he was rushed to hospital with potentially fatal liver damage caused by years of heavy boozing.

His doctor, liver specialist Professor Roger Williams, has appealed to barmen not to serve George again.