Foster: 1,000 under-14’s admitted to hospital with mental and behavioural disorders due to alcoholMon, 16 Mar 2009

Over 1,000 children under 14 have been admitted to hospital in England for mental and behavioural disorders related to alcohol in the last year, according to figures revealed today by the Liberal Democrats.

The information, contained in a Parliamentary answer, shows that:

• 160,931 over 18s were admitted, a 56% increase from five years ago
• 5,223 children aged 14-17 admitted, a 30% increase from five years ago
• 44 under 10s were admitted, with 304 admissions over the last 5 years

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Don Foster said:

"These astronomical figures show once again that binge drinking is out of control in this country."

"It's particularly shocking that so many of these admissions relate to children under the age of 10. It is now imperative that parents and schools get the resources they need to educate children from a very young age about the dangers of alcohol."

"When there are thousands of children in hospital for serious alcohol related conditions we cannot bury our heads in the sand about the consequences of our drinking culture."

"It is vital that the NHS is equiped to deal with alcohol dependency and other alcohol related conditions."