THE price of beer in Exeter has plummeted to under £1 a pint — the same as it was 20 years ago.

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon, which runs the Imperial in New North Road and George's Meeting House in South Street, is offering a pint of beer for 99p, down to 1989 prices, from today.

The company said the price reductions on some beer and bottled lager would run "indefinitely".

Paul Dixey, manager of the Imperial, said: "This has to be the cheapest pint of beer in Exeter — if not Britain.

"We will be selling Greene King IPA at 99p a pint and one or two other offers.

"Obviously we want to encourage people to come here but also we want to be seen to be doing our bit in these tough times."

Nick Warren, operations director for the Night Owl service that provides doormen across the city, said: "I don't think this will lead to any extra problems.

"By and large drinkers in Exeter are pretty good and whether it's £2.50 a pint or 99p people can only drink so much. It is just a question of being sensible — and people usually are."

But campaign group Alcohol Concern says pricing drinks at 1989 levels could cause more people to drink too much and end up in hospital.

Charity spokesman Nicolay Sorensen said prices across the industry were already 65 per cent lower in real terms than in 1980.

"The number of alcohol-related hospital admissions is continuing to rise at an astonishing rate," he said, adding that treating drink-related illnesses cost the NHS £2.7bn a year.

He said that by selling beer at 99p per pint, pubs were not acting responsibly.

Wetherspoon's chief executive John Hutson said the company was helping people in the face of the economic downturn.

"We believe that our new food and drink prices will allow people to enjoy a visit to a Wetherspoon pub without it costing them too much," he said.

The Wetherspoon move comes after cheap-drink deals in the city were criticised for undermining campaigns to beat binge-drinking.

Dr Virginia Pearson, director of public health for Devon Primary Care Trust, said: "We recognise there is a growing problem in society with drinking in excess. The PCT is investing new resources in tackling it by advertising and promoting the risks of binge-dri- nking.

"Short-term damage includes accidents and injuries, anti-social behaviour, alcohol poisoning, unplanned pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases.

"Long-term health effects include brain, heart, liver and pancreatic damage, cancers such as mouth and throat cancer, and an increased risk of breast and stomach cancer.

"If we don't tackle this now, we will suffer the consequences in the future."

Exeter Students' Guild president John Cox called for pubs and clubs to follow campus outlets' lead. They have strict rules in place following the death of Gavin Britton, 18, two years ago, after taking part in an initiation pub crawl.