 Youth workers say children are being influenced by adults |
Children as young as 10 are getting drunk in Pembrokeshire, health officials have warned. Schemes to teach youngsters about the dangers of alcohol and to make it harder to get hold of it are underway.
The Pembrokeshire Local Health Board says the problem is a national one and it wants to see more money and attention to the issue.
Alcohol workers say both boys and girls are affected and it is not uncommon for children to drink up to half a bottle of vodka.
 |  Most people get very emotive at the word drugs but because of cultural acceptance of drinking we don't always see the risks  |
As well as damaging their health it is being blamed for causing anti-social behaviour and vandalism.
Joyce Walters, chairwoman of the Mount Estate residents' association in Milford Haven, said it was causing problems for people living there.
"There is a group of young people - I would say from 10 upwards - and the younger ones are using the older ones as role models," she explained.
"It's so easy for them because the older ones are giving them the drink.
"It's very intimidating to walk past people that are drunk - it's frightening."
Drinking culture
A survey in 1995 of 4,000 youngsters between the ages of 11 and 15 in Pembrokeshire found 86% had tried alcohol.
David Porter, a drugs and alcohol worker based in Haverfordwest for the youth organisation SUDDS, said he thought if a similar exercise was done today the results would be even more alarming.
"It would not be unusual to see an 11-year-old boy or girl having drunk half a bottle of vodka," he said.
"We are in a high drinking culture here, not just in Pembrokeshire but in Wales and the UK.
"Young people are basically imitating what they see in adults.
"The risks tend to be different for young people than adults.
'Good time'
Mr Porter added that young people were still developing and heavy drinking could be very disruptive and dangerous for them.
He said: "Most people get very emotive at the word drugs but because of cultural acceptance of drinking we don't always see the risks that are in front of us.
"Pembrokeshire is a lovely place to live but there are loads and loads of licensed premises.
"People do come here for a good time and that does include drinking alcohol.
"On the one hand we are encouraging this and on the other hand we are finding that there are problems."
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
