Chief Inspector Simon Dicks, health official Nicola Cretney and Lyn Gaskin, of the county council, launch the Know Your Limits campaign (16909/4)Wiltshire police are so concerned by the effects of binge drinking among young adults that they have launched a campaign to promote sensible drinking. JILL CROOKS spoke to officers behind the new drive.

YOUNG adults who binge drink are being targeted in a new campaign in Wiltshire.

The police, health authorities and council chiefs have joined together to educate people aged between 18 and 25 of the dangers of binge drinking.

Wiltshire police say the majority of anti-social behaviour is fuelled by binge drinking.

Chief Inspector Simon Dicks said during the first three months of the year more than 7,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour had been reported to the police.

That included 323 incidents of street drinking, 452 incidents of noise nuisance and 4,500 incidents of rowdyism.

Ch Insp Dicks said: "The majority of the 7,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour are minor but most of them are alcohol fuelled.

"The worst thing of all is street violence at late night, typically on a Friday and Saturday night where people are heavily laden with alcohol. We want to tackle the fear of crime and want our towns to be places where people of all ages can visit, work and live in relative safety.

"Violence, criminal damage and rowdisym affect the economy of the town centres and we want to reduce crime on our streets and anti-social behaviour.

"The majority of 18 to 25 year olds are good decent people but there is a hard core who go out to get drunk every weekend and they don't understand what they are doing to themselves and others."

Ch Inp Dicks said the force was in discussion with pub companies over getting 'two for one' drinks promotions removed.

He said: "These sorts of drink promotions encourage excess drinking. We would like to see sensible drinking at sensible prices and we are working with licensees and door staff to identify those people who are getting to the level of intoxication and to stop them going further."

Lynn Gaskin, head of crime reduction and community safety at Wiltshire County Council, said: "We see the 18 to 25 year age group as a vulnerable group. Binge drinking is very high profile and we want to encourage people of this age group to drink sensibly."

Letters have been sent to pubs in Pubwatch schemes and to pharmacies.

Gary MacMartin, licensee of the Rising Sun and Four Seasons pubs in Devizes and a member of the town's Pubwatch scheme, said: "We are happy to work with the police, council and health trust to try and reduce binge drinking.

"We operate a very strict policy on drunkenness. People are removed when drunk and we encourage people not to drink to excessive amounts."

Nicola Cretney, head of health promotion at the Kennet, North and West Wiltshire Primary Care Trusts, said the campaign was not aimed at stopping people drinking.

Miss Cretney said: "We are not saying don't drink but if you do drink to do so safely."

The campaign, called Be Safe, Know Your Limits, is aimed to raise awareness of how much young adults drink on average and how much of a threat it represents to their health and ability.

Miss Cretney said weekly alcohol limits for men and women were abolished some time ago.

The current Government guidance for sensible drinking is two to three units or less of alcohol a day for women and three to four units or less for men.

A unit of alcohol is half a pint of beer with a 3.5 per cent volume, a 25ml serving of spirit and half a 175ml glass of wine.

Miss Cretney said: "There are health risks associated with drinking too much alcohol.

"This includes unsafe sex, alcohol poisoning, accidental injury and drug assisted sexual assault."

Nationally among 16 to 24 year olds, one in seven said they have had unsafe sex after drinking alcohol. Forty two per cent of men and 25 per cent of women say they have argued after drinking. According to Government statistics, 50 per cent of street crime is alcohol related.

Fifty three per cent of assaults by a stranger, 45 per cent of assaults by an acquaintance, 32 per cent of domestic violence incidents and 17 per cent of muggings are alcohol related.

An online survey carried out in Wiltshire this summer among Year 10 pupils (aged 14 and 15) found that 56 per cent had drunk at least one glass, or can or bottle of alcohol in the previous week.

Drinking facts

The number of South West children admitted to hospital because of binge drinking soared by 35 per cent in only one year, shock figures show.

In 2003/04, 170 under-18s were admitted to hospitals in the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire health authority area up from 126 in 2002/03.

The number of adult admissions also rose by 11 per cent from 1,107 to 1,230.

Nationally, the number of UK children admitted to hospital because of drinking alcohol has risen by 11 per cent since the mid-1990s.

In 2003-2004, 4,647 under-18s were admitted to hospital, the equivalent of 13 a day up from 4,173 in 1996-1997.