A MOTHER has told how the daughter she thought was a responsible teenager was found face down in a field after drinking cheap vodka with friends.

The 16-year-old girl was unconscious when she was discovered by police by Horrobin Lane near Jumbles Country Park.

She was with a large group of youngsters who had been bingeing on beer, cider and spirits. The girl's mother - who thought her daughter was at a friend's home - has told of her shock in a letter to The Bolton News which we reproduce HERE.

And yesterday the mother-of-three, who lives in Bromley Cross, issued a warning to all parents. "I want people to realise that it is not children from so-called bad families who are out drinking. It could well be yours, as I have found out," she said.

"I have seen children from families I know get drunk, but have never really wanted to say anything.

"Now I feel more qualified to do so, because I am not sitting in my ivory tower any more. I know what goes on."

"However well parents think they know their children, as I did, they need to ask themselves are they where they said they were going, who are they with and what are they doing"

Police will step up patrols in the Bromley Cross area this weekend in a bid to keep the young drinkers off the streets.

Insp Tony Kenyon, from Bolton Police, said nine calls were taken from members of the public reporting dozens of youths behaving in a rowdy manner last Friday.

He added: "There will be extra officers on patrol this weekend in response to what happened.

"Young people can become very vulnerable if they have been drinking and we involve the parents if we think it is necessary.

"If a young person is stopped on more than one occasion we will write to the parents.

"We have a number of operations in place to stop young people buying alcohol. Most supermarkets and off licences have a strict policy, and we regularly carry out test purchases to catch out those who don't.

"The biggest problem is with adults buying alcohol for people underage and we are working with the shops to identify these people to bring prosecutions."

"However well parents think they know their children, as I did, they need to ask themselves are they where they said they were going, who are they with and what are they doing?"

The warning comes as the biggest ever survey into the town's drinking habits is launched in a bid to establish any patterns and get an understanding of what and why Bolton residents drink Experts believe up to 15,000 people in the area could be boozing their way to serious illness or death. In Bolton, 95 people are admitted to hospital every month due to alcohol-related injuries and 2,000 people need treatment every year for their drink problems.

Deborah Harkin, deputy director of public health for Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: "The issue with young people drinking is that they arrive at hospital with high levels of intoxification and are extremely drunk. This is an immediate danger. Young people can overdose on alcohol and their body can go into shock.

"In the long-term, the earlier someone starts drinking heavily the more time there is for the longer term effects to take hold, such as liver disease and digestive disorders, which can lead to serious illness and even death with people who are prolonged and heavy drinkers."

Shocking figures show that since 2003, there has been a massive increase in children needing urgent medical attention because of alcohol.

Statistics reveal 23 girls and 12 boys were hospitalised through drink between April 2002 and April 2003.

But between April 2006 and April 2007 the number soared to 86 girls, a rise of 374 per cent, and 70 boys - an increase of 583 per cent.

ays she is from a respectable family and always takes care to find out where her daughter is, what she is doing and who she is with.

The mother praised the police for the way they acted when they discovered the girl at 8.30pm last Friday night, but had this warning for other parents who believed they knew where their children were.