Shropshire children treated for alcohol and drug problems

Children in Shropshire as young as 12 are being referred for specialist drug and alcohol treatment.

Charities have called for improved drugs education in schools after an investigation revealed primary school children are being flagged as at risk of becoming addicts.

In Telford and Wrekin, the youngest person to be referred to specialist drug and alcohol drug services was just 12.

That was the same in Powys. Shropshire Council did not provide the age of its youngest referral.

Across the border, in the West Midlands, children as young as 11 have been referred for help.

Earlier this month a nine-year-old boy from Shropshire made a plea to the NHS for help after becoming hooked on cigarettes.

The latest figures are released amid concerns that young children are being exposed to cannabis use and easy access to alcohol.

A referral can mean the child is vulnerable to drug and alcohol misuse through a parent or other relative, or they could have started abusing substances themselves.

Some 366 children aged 12 or under were referred for treatment in 2012/13 in England, according to the most recent figures from Public Health England, compared with 433 in 2011/12.

More than half of under-13s - 59 per cent - received treatment for cannabis misuse, while a third were treated for alcohol misuse. A small number abused solvents.

Russell Griffin, a spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said referrals can be made into the service by parents, professionals and other agencies, or by the young person

He said each referral is allocated to a worker, who will meet with the youngster.

Mr Griffin said: "The young people worker will introduce themselves and give details about the service we offer while also trying to find out more about the young person's needs.

"As the service is voluntary, it is then up to the young person to say whether they would like to continue with the service.

"If so another meeting will be arranged so that the comprehensive assessment can be completed and a support plan can be put in place."

Powys County Council, meanwhile, said that the youngest person it had referred, a 12-year-old boy, was because there were issues within his family.

Spokesman John Evans said: "It wasn't because he had any alcohol or drug problems himself, there were family issues.

"We have low levels of drug and alcohol abuse compared with other parts of the country."

Elsewhere, eight-year-olds had been referred to services in Waltham Forest and East Ayrshire, while nine-year-olds had been referred in Herefordshire, Liverpool, Oxfordshire, Rutland, the Scottish Borders and West Berkshire.

Authorities in Bury, Calderdale, Halton, Hull, Monmouthshire and Rochdale had seen 10-year-olds referred.

Andrew Brown, director of programmes at charity Mentor UK, which works to protect children from drug and alcohol misuse, said he was shocked at the findings.

Mr Brown said: "We think it is vital that alcohol and drug education improve. Our own survey of teachers suggests that at the moment delivery is inconsistent, and that the norm is to timetable only one or two sessions a year.

"This may sound sufficient, but evidence would suggest that longer programmes that systematically build skills and values are much more likely to prevent young people from coming to harm than one-off lessons."