EIGHTY thousand people were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related reasons in the North-East last year, an annual increase of more than 7,000.

The newly-released statistics mean that the region has again topped a national league for alcohol-related hospital admissions.

And it triggered renewed calls from North-East campaigners for a minimum price per unit of alcohol to be introduced.

The total North-East figure of 80,700 alcohol-related hospital admissions during 2010-11 was an increase of 7,300 on the previous year’s total.

While not the highest figure in England, it was the highest per head of population, with 2,597 per 100,000 North-East residents needing hospital treatment for alcohol-related issues compared to 1,335 admissions per 100,000 in the South.

The figure for Yorkshire and the Humber, which saw 119,700 alcohol-related hospital admissions last year, put the region slightly ahead of the national average in terms of admissions per head of the population.

But Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest number of prescriptions of the drug Antabuse last year.

A total of 198 patients were given the drug, which deters patients from drinking alcohol.

The statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre also showed that the North-East had the highest proportion of 11 to 15-year-olds drinking alcohol, with 26 per cent of North-East youngsters having had an alcoholic drink in the past week compared to only 12 per cent in London.

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North-East alcohol office, said last night: “Despite recent figures which suggest a slow-down in the rate of increase and a downward trend in the proportion of adults who reported drinking in the previous week, the North-East continues to have the highest rate of alcohol related hospital admissions in England.

“We also continue to have the highest proportion of pupils who are drinking, despite a national fall in the number admitting to consuming alcohol. Worryingly, pupils in the North-East are consuming more than pupils in other English regions.”

Mr Shevills added: “It’s no coincidence that as alcohol becomes more affordable, the amount of alcohol purchased from supermarkets and off licences increases, and so do the problems that we face at the hands of alcohol misuse.

“This is why the introduction of a minimum unit price, backed by Government and due for consultation later this year, is key to turning back the tide of alcohol misuse.”