Festive poster campaign to shame binge drinkers

A Town hall has launched a special campaign urging people not to binge drink during the Christmas period.

Lambeth council hopes the special campaign, backed by the South London Press,will cut drink-related crime in the borough over the festive period.

The police, the ambulance service and hospital accident and emergency departments all have to deal with an increase in drink-fuelled incidents in December.

The problem puts a huge drain on their resources.

This year, the council hopes revellers will think twice before getting wasted at a Christmas bash and to consider the damage binge drinking can do to themselves and others.

Lambeth's cabinet member for community safety, Councillor Mark Bennett, said: "Lambeth council's top priority is to bring down crime and make people feel safer.

"So, with our Safer Lambeth partners and the South London Press, we're promoting this campaign with one simple aim - to warn residents,especially those under 35, that they are more likely to be a victim or perpetrator of crime if they have been binge drinking.

"We're not saying 'thou shalt not drink' - we're asking people to drink sensibly and stay safe.Many people just don't think twice about getting so drunk they are incapable, and wouldn't say they have a problem, or could be causing trouble. But they do.

"The numbers are stark and worrying. "Across Lambeth, we estimate that 42,000 men and 20,000 women are drinking above sensible levels. Around 1,300 15- to 16-year-olds get drunk on average about three times a month - and people wonder why the teen preg-nancy rate is so high here.

"More than 23,000 men and 6,000 women binge drink regularly. So in a borough with a population of 260,000, binge drinkers currently make up about one in 10 residents.

"One think tank [the National Centre for Social Research] puts Lambeth's booze problem higher - 17 per cent.

"Either figure is far too high. Alcohol flows down a slippery slope - about 10 per cent of all premature deaths happen to people who never get a grip on their drinking."

Cllr Bennett said binge drinkers put a drain on the resources of emergency services.

He said: "There are the knock-on effects for Lambeth police and our ambulance crews and hospital staff.

"Something like 90,000 accidents related to alcohol require hospital admission.

"Binge drinkers put needless pressure on the emergency services that could be better spent catching serious criminals or treating heart attack victims.Alcohol misuse costs this borough many millions of pounds of public money that could be better spent."

The councillor said incidents of drink-related domestic violence also increased in the festive period.

He said: "In Lambeth homes,around a third of domestic violence incidents can be directly linked to excessive alcohol consumption. Rates of domestic violence are known to soar around Christmas, and that's why we're also running a campaign urging victims to come forward for help.

"And then there are all the other problems caused by drink - the chip pan left on that burns down the flat, the blaring noise of the stereo that makes life a misery for neighbours, the people abused or assaulted on the night bus,the damaged car,the smashed shop window, the urine or vomit in a stranger's front garden, the stolen wallet, the snatched handbag or phone,the unlicensed minicab ripoff, the lost night, the lost friends and the lost dignity.

"All this could be avoided simply by knowing when you've had enough, and saying when.

"Alcohol can be tied to a range of criminal offences including criminal damage, assault and public disorder offences.

"Evidence shows that many victims of assaults are likely to have been drinking prior to the incident. And a recent British Crime Survey said that 48 per cent of victims of violent crime believed the offender to be under the influence of alcohol.

"So by all means celebrate - right across Lambeth there are some great bars, pubs and clubs to enjoy a night out. But you'll enjoy your works Christmas party, or any night on the town, a lot more if you can remember it the next day."

ic South london