Drunken women arrests on decline

The number of women being arrested for being drunk and disorderly has fallen by a staggering 80 per cent across West Mercia in the last five years, new figures today reveal.

They show that 144 females were detained for binge-drinking related anti-social behaviour in 2003/04. And despite the problem reaching its height in 2006/07 with 230 arrests for the offence, West Mercia Police reported just 29 such incidents in 2007/08.

The police force area, which covers Shropshire, appears to be bucking the national trend with alcohol abuse among women rife on the streets in other parts of the country.

Regions with the biggest increases included West Midlands, where there was a 1,138 per cent rise, and Gwent in Wales, where the problem has soared by 578 per cent.

The trend is so worring that Chief Constable Mike Craik, of Northumbria Police, where arrests went up by 48 per cent, has called for a complete ban on discounted drinks, happy hours and alcohol advertising.

He said: "The reality is that clearly more still needs to be done, particularly about under-age drinking and the associated youth disorder.

"That may well include rigorous action on the price of alcohol, a ban on advertising, increased education and advertising around the harm it can do, external regulation, or even taking a uniquely harmful substance out of the normal retail chain.

"There should also be an end to discounted drinks, such as two-for-one deals, happy hours and supermarkets selling alcohol at below cost prices."

Campaigners believe women are following the lead of men and drinking more than they can handle.

Don Shenker, of Alcohol Concern, said: "Pubs are now targeting women with special offers and cheap drinks to encourage them to drink more. It should be stopped."

But David Poley, of The Portman Group, set up by leading drink manufacturers to prevent alcohol misuse, insisted that the industry took its responsibility "very seriously", marketing under strict codes of conduct.

He argued the price of alcohol was not the problem, but Britain's drinking culture.

"Alcohol on the Continent is a lot cheaper yet there are not the same problems we have here," he said.

Some 38 out of 52 police forces from across the UK responded to the survey by Channel 4 news online.

By Sunita Patel