Boy aged four treated for alcohol poisoning at hospital in region

The pair were among 130 children who attended Hull Royal Infirmary last year with acute alcohol intoxication, including a four-year-old boy who was treated for alcohol poisoning.

The two boys – both under 18 – were diagnosed with alcoholism, but no more details were given.

The overall figures represented an 18 per cent rise on the previous year, but around the same level as 2007 and 2008.

Cheap alcohol and ready access to it – including adults prepared to buy drink on behalf of children – are cited as being among the causes of the problem.

Chief Insp Dave Rawding of Hull’s Neighbourhood Policing Team said he was disappointed by the rise, given the effort that had gone into tackling the problem, including confiscating alcohol from young people and targeting areas where youths are known to drink during school holidays.

He said: “I was quite surprised the figures had gone up as the partners – the police, health and anti-social behaviour teams – have done an awful lot of work. The parents themselves have certain responsibilities – if they know a child is regularly hung over they clearly need to be asking some questions.”

The manager of the city’s drug and alcohol service for young people Refresh, Laura Starky, said: “We are not seeing a sharp increase. I think what we are seeing ...is that they are drinking more, the amount of units they are drinking is increasing. Generally they are using alcohol because it’s a way of dealing with some of the difficulties they have got.”

She believed the recording of a diagnosis of alcoholism could be down to an administrative error. She added: “We are seeing young people who are experimenting, we are not seeing alcohol-dependent under 16s.”