THE negative effects of alcohol consumption cost the Blackburn with Darwen economy more than £68million each year, new figures suggest.

A report by Drinkwise North West found the average costs for dealing with alcohol related problems came to £486 per resident in the borough, which represented avoidable costs to the NHS, social services, police and workplaces. This was one of the highest figures in the country in the latest figures, for 2010/11.

Dominic Harrison, director of public health at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “This is money we can’t afford and should not have to spend.

“Alcohol can be consumed safely and the majority of us do this. But if we can now buy the full adult weekly safe number of units for less than a fiver - we are inevitably going to get problems – its not really difficult to understand why.

“Sadly, government policy on this issue is simply driving down the price of alcohol and encouraging consumption. We particularly need to protect children from this state sanctioned flood of cheap readily available alcohol.”

Mr Harrison said he was ‘extremely disappointed’ to read national media reports suggesting the government was likely to drop the current proposals for a minimum unit price for alcohol.