THE appalling extent of alcohol abuse among women in Warrington has been highlighted by figures that show many of them are drinking themselves into a hospital bed.

The town ranks number 10 out of 354 local authorities for the staggering number of females admitted to hospital because of alcohol related injuries.

The figures, published last week by the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University and the North West Public Health Observatory, highlight a growing trend for binge drinking among the female population.

This despite a new alcohol strategy for the town, which aims to cut down on the number of alcohol-related incidents and associated health risks for residents.

Dr Marioth Manche, the town's deputy director of public health said that the disturbingly high ranking in the Regional Alcohol Indicators could be down to the growing number of pubs in the town.

He reassured the public that the matter was in hand and that the primary care trust was working on a number of approaches to the problem.

He said: "There is work going on but things don't change overnight. Unfortunately, there is currently a culture of drinking to excess until you are knocked out.

These changes will happen slowly with advice and support and we will keep on changing our approach until it works."