North of England worst for binge drinking

People living in the north of England are more likely to binge drink and die younger through alcohol abuse than people living in the south of the country, new research has suggested.

Research conducted by the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, found that just over 18% of adults in England binge drink at least double the daily recommended levels of alcohol in one or more sessions a week.

Binge-drinking was found to be worst in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham, where more than 27% of adults admitted drinking more than the recommended daily limit.

This compared to areas such as East Dorset, where the number was only 8.8%.

There were also more hospital admissions due to alcohol-related conditions in the north, with areas such as Liverpool, Manchester and Middlesborough having the worst rates.

However, for alcohol-related violence, the City of Westminster in London was the worst, with 15 violent offences per 1,000 due to alcohol in 2005/06.

Professor Mark Bellis, director of the Centre for Public Health, said: "We hope that making these statistics widely available will highlight that we are no longer a nation enjoying a harmless tipple but increasingly one developing a dangerous alcohol addiction."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said that £217 million per year was being spent on alcohol treatment.

However, Shadow Home Secretary David Davis described the research as "alarming" and said that it showed why the government was wrong to introduce 24-hour drinking legislation.

(KMcA)