An NHS chief has said alcohol is becoming a 'silent killer' in the UK as he warned middle class drinkers that a glass of wine is just as harmful as downing three shots of vodka, The Daily Mail reported.

Duncan Selbie, the head of Public Health England, said deaths from alcohol-related illnesses had soared by 500 per cent since the seventies to become the third biggest killer of working age people in the UK. Britain is now the only country in Western Europe except Finland where cases of liver disease are increasing.

Mr Selbie added that the middle classes would often pour themselves a glass of wine at the end of the day with 'no idea' how much they were actually drinking.

Glasses size has also increased alongside our alcohol consumption so drinkers can be pouring themselves more without realising it.

Last week the Lancet commission said Britain is turning into the capital of Europe for alcohol-related disease as they recommended that liver scans should be offered by GPs.

In his weekly staff briefing, Mr Selbie said liver disease is largely preventable but was a 'silent killer with 75 per cent of people with cirrhosis only being diagnosed once they are admitted to hospital.

'Liver disease is largely preventable with the three big risk factors being alcohol – for example, a large glass of wine is like three shots of vodka, so it is very easy for people to pour a glass and have no idea how much they are drinking.'

Fiona Bruce, the Labour MP, agreed, telling the Telegraph: 'This is an issue we need to take much more seriously, and revise our view of the binge drinker as a teenager out late at night.

'Increasingly too high levels of alcohol consumption are occurring in the home by older age groups and we all have a responsibility to challenge and help address this.'