CRISIS OF BRITAIN'S BOOZY YOUNG

BRITAIN'S young people are top of the European league for drunkenness and violence, a World Health Organisation conference will hear this week.

Experts say boozy sessions in TV soaps, like Coronation Street's Rover's Return, EastEnders' Queen Vic and Emmerdale's Woolpack, encourage the young to drink.

But parents and politicians get the most stick. The main fault, say the experts, lies with the permissive attitudes of government. Tory leader William Hague gets a roasting for his boast that he supped 14 pints a night as a teenager.

And Tony Blair gets flak for believing that allowing children into pubs will encourage them to grow up to drink sensibly.

The drink problems of our 16-24 year-olds will be discussed at a WHO conference starting tomorrow in Stockholm. It will be attended by 20 European health ministers and teenage drinking is high on the agenda.

Derrick Rutherford, Director of the Institute for Alcohol Studies, says: "Politicians are well aware that around 80 per cent of violent acts are alcohol-related. We have a very serious drink problem. The blame lies with parents, politicians and the powerful drink lobby. We've got to get a grip without delay."

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