ALCOHOL abuse among young people in a town could be easing, according to a new report.

Last year, The Northern Echo revealed that the borough had the highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions for young people in the country.

The latest figures show that, of the 152 primary care trust areas, Darlington has risen to 150th.

Although acknowledging that there is clearly a lot remaining to be done, Darlington Borough Council and County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trust have welcomed the findings.

The gradual reversal in fortunes has been attributed to work in schools and with parents.

A report to the council's health and well-being scrutiny committee states: "We have a growing evidence base to support the fact that this approach is working well locally."

The report details the extensive efforts that have been made to tackle the worrying rates of under-18s being admitted to hospital.

In 2005-6, 50 under-18s were admitted to hospital because of alcohol. In 2009-10 there were 27, and so far in 2010-11, there have been 13.

One of the most important parts of the new strategy has been conducting a survey at six of the seven secondary schools in the town.

It revealed that young people in Darlington believe drinking among their peers is far more common than is actually the case.

To attempt to change young people's attitudes towards drinking, a number of measures were introduced including: More than 500 people working with young people have been given training to improve their ability to offer support and advice; Youth and health workers have been working in schools and with families, including giving talks at parents' evenings, to explain the dangers of drinking; As part of a pilot scheme being run at pharmacies, alcohol advice has been offered to young women accessing emergency contraception; The belief that prevention is better than cure has been adopted, with support being given to those deemed most likely to drink to excess; Operation Stay Safe was launched, with police-led patrols targeting areas known to attract young people drinking. Many gallons of alcohol were seized during the operation.

The report will be discussed at a meeting of the scrutiny committee tomorrow, at 9.30am in the town hall. The public are welcome to attend.