Latvian police said a drunk picked up with around twice the blood-alcohol level considered deadly had probably set a world record but would wake with a hangover to match

The unidentified middle-aged man was unconscious but stable after a blood test showed 7.22 parts per million of alcohol, police spokeswoman Ieva Zvidre said. An average person would vomit at around 1.2, lose consciousness at 3.0 and stop breathing at a level of about 4.0 parts per million, Zvidre said, adding: "This is one for the Guinness Book of Records." Emergency ward head Martins Sics told reporters there was no record of anybody having survived such a dose, even in neighbouring Russia which takes pride in its vodka-guzzling traditions. "He won't remember a thing when he comes to," Sics said.