FOUR children a week are being admitted to hospital in Bolton after drinking themselves unconscious.

Medical experts say the children, as young as 13, are mainly girls.

A&E Consultant Dr Chris Moulton said the Royal Bolton Hospital casualty unit had witnessed a rise in child alcohol abuse over the last three years.

He said: "We are seeing children from two types of groups.

"Those that have fallen and broken a limb or have been fighting because of drinking alcohol or those who are brought in with suspected alcohol poisoning completely comatose from the effects.

"These young teenagers who are deeply unconscious are putting their lives at risk.

"It can be life-threatening because there is a danger that they become so unconscious that there is a blockage in the airway.

"So far we have not seen any deaths in Bolton. But it is worrying."

The consultant blames a rise in the amount of pocket money readily available to young children as a major factor behind the alarming increase.

Dr Moulton explained: "For most of them it is a one off event, an experiment gone wrong. We haven't got too many regulars. They get sent home as long as they are okay and they go away to drink more judiciously in the future. "But we can deal with three or four cases each week where children have to be put on a drip and treated for suspected alcohol poisoning.

"It isn't always at the weekend. We either leave them for six or seven hours in A&E or put them on the paediatric ward.

"It is becoming more common. They are given too much pocket money to buy drink and Ecstasy tablets."

Emergency staff have to make sure the patient has not also taken Ecstasy as well as the alcohol.

They rely on friends and ambulance staff to tell them what they have taken.

Dr Moulton, who said vodka was a common drink among teenagers, said: "As far as I am aware, there is no study in to the long-term effects of drinking alcohol on a child. There are no safety limits drawn up because children aren't supposed to drink."

Hospital staff have to deal with embarrassed parents who sit anxiously by their child's bedside.

Dr Moulton said: "Their worry turns to anger when the child starts getting better."

Has your family been affected by under-age drinking? Contact the newsdesk on e-mail: bennewsdesk@lancashire.newsquest.co.uk