Sutton has more underage drinkers being admitted to hospital than most other London boroughs, a report has revealed.

A Children and Young People’s Plan for Sutton published last week shows that the borough has high under-18 hospital admission rates for alcohol related harm compared to other parts of London - and these youngsters have complex social and medical histories.

The news comes as most recent figures show that Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust during 2011-12 had the third highest alcohol-related medical incidents in London with 7,400 cases - after Ealing (7,800) and Croydon (7,500).

In February this year Sutton Council launched a project to try and tackle the problem of underage drinking by running training courses to help traders spot underage drinkers.

Eric Appleby, chief executive of Alcohol Concern said they had seen a 117 per cent increase in alcohol-related liver disease hospital admissions for under 30’s in England in the last 10 years.

He said: "This is a terrifying statistic and shows why we need urgent action on the issue of alcohol and young people.

"We support the chief medical officer's advice that an alcohol free childhood is the safest option and that those under 15 year olds, ideally, should not drink at all.

"It may feel that introducing children to alcohol in a safe and controlled environment at home is the right thing to do, but all the research shows that the younger someone starts drinking, the more likely they are to have problems with alcohol in later life."

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Sutton Council took on a public health role as part of the NHS shake-up in April, which makes it responsible for improving people’s welfare.

A council spokesman said: "Alcohol-related harm is a national issue. The council, police and health have a joined-up approach to tackling alcohol-related harm in Sutton.

"This includes education and advice as well as enforcement, regulation and treatment. Importantly we try to help residents to be part of the solution."

St Helier Hospital were unable to comment on the issue in time for our deadline.

For advice on underage drinking visit Alcohol Concern.