Council action on drink problems

Council chiefs have backed a tough new plan of action in a bid to beat Telford's spiralling booze problems.It follows a shocking report which painted a picture of a town awash with drink.

More than a third of Telford men are officially classed as binge drinkers, 26 per cent of boys aged 11 to 15 have at least one drink a week and the town has the highest hospital admission rates for alcohol-related injuries in the West Midlands.

Drink has been a factor in more than 4,000 crimes in the past three years.

The new strategy, agreed by Telford & Wrekin Council's cabinet last night, will see organisations coming together to tackle under-age drinking, anti-social behaviour, violent crime and the flouting of licensing laws.

The plan, claimed by Conservative council leader Andrew Eade to be one of the first of its kind in the country, lays out a range of measures for prevention, treatment and control.

Councillor Eade said: "We won't shirk for one moment to start dealing with these problems. There's a great deal of determination from this administration.

"There's so much gone into drugs prevention and treatment but I get the feeling, in the past, alcohol problems have been ignored. The cost to the community is immense."

The council's director of community services, Ron Odunaiya, said Telford & Wrekin Primary Care Trust was likely to invest a "significant" amount into the work.

Labour Councillor Keith Austin said the strategy would help reduce crime and added: "Drugs and alcohol seem to be the main things that fuel crime."

Councillor Vic Tonks, of Telford & Wrekin People's Association, said problems rested not so much with pubs, but with young people getting cheap alcohol.

"I think if that could be controlled, a lot of the problems we see with anti-social behaviour would vanish off the street."

The council plans to run awareness campaigns in schools, organise positive activities for youngsters and work with licensees.

An "arrest referral" scheme will be launched to target alcohol related offenders and better access to services given to those seeking help.