Zoe Hughes was 35 years old when she was found dead in her home in Lincoln.
For years, she had been battling alcoholism.
She had gone through rehab twice.
She was trying to hold on.
But the world around her had changed.
Alcohol was no longer something you had to go out and get.
Now, it could come straight to your door.
Drinking Alone — Delivered on Demand
After her death, Zoe’s sister, Alexandria, went through her accounts.
What she found was shocking.
Zoe had been spending up to £1,500 a month on alcohol ordered through delivery apps.
No shops.
No pubs.
No human interaction.
Just a phone.
Order. Deliver. Repeat.
Sometimes, the alcohol wasn’t even handed to her.
It was left at the doorstep.
No questions asked.
Rules That Existed Only on Paper
Delivery platforms state that alcohol should not be handed to someone who is visibly intoxicated.
But in Zoe’s case, there was no real check.
No one to stop her.
No one to say “enough.”
No one watching.
What exists in a bar — a bartender who can refuse service — simply doesn’t exist behind a screen.
A Sister’s Fight for Change
Now, Alexandria Hughes is trying to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
She has launched a petition calling for a national self-exclusion system for alcohol delivery, similar to the tools used in the gambling industry.
A system where vulnerable individuals — or their families — could block access across all delivery platforms at once.
The petition has already passed 15,000 signatures.
Her message is simple:
If you’re drunk in a pub, you won’t be served.
If you’re intoxicated in a shop, you can be refused.
But at home?
There are no limits.
Not Just One Case
Zoe’s story isn’t the only one.
In Australia, a 30-year-old woman named Kathleen Arnold was found dead in 2023 with an extremely high blood alcohol level.
In the six months before her death, she had ordered alcohol 319 times through delivery apps.
A formal investigation followed, raising serious questions about the system.
Convenience With a Cost
Delivery apps have built their success on convenience.
Fast. Easy. On demand.
But for someone struggling with addiction, that convenience can be dangerous.
Even fatal.
A Question That Can’t Be Ignored
Zoe Hughes didn’t lose her life in a bar.
She lost it at home.
Alone.
With alcohol that kept arriving — again and again — with no one to stop it.
Now her sister is asking a simple question:
Should convenience ever come before safety?