MORE than 350 East Lancashire children including 100 under 11 have been rushed to hospital emergency departments suffering the effects of binge drinking in the last three years.

The shock figures, obtained from health bosses by The Lancashire Evening Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act, show the true extent of the problem of youngsters poisoning their bodies with booze.

One in five of all people seen by emergency teams for the effects of excess alcohol are aged 15 and under.

And the true picture in an area with one of the worst problems of alcohol misuse in the country could be even worse as those who have suffered injuries while drinking are not included in the figures.

Health bosses and MPs today demanded action as police confirmed they were targeting under-aged drinkers.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "The figures are absolutely shocking and I'm glad the Lancashire Evening Telegraph is highlighting them.

"If very young people are binge drinking they can do themselves a large amount of damage especially in the longer term. It is incredibly worrying."

The revelation comes as police launch another campaign aimed at confiscating alcohol from young people.

Operation Hot Spot is targeting young people in the Bank Hall area of Burnley and young boozers will have their drink poured down the drain.

Chief Insp Allan Wyllie said: "We are disappointed by the figures and they are of concern but we are aware of the problem and actively doing something about it. If children 10 and under are getting drunk then we appeal for parents to know what their children are doing."

Last week a survey of almost 400 teenagers found 41 per cent regularly drink alcohol.

The study, of 14-year-olds in Ribble Valley high schools, also found nine out of 10 children had been able to buy booze.

Dr Ellis Friedman, director of public health at Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT, said: "The figures for A&E admissions are worrying but not surprising. The North West is among the highest in the country for alcohol misuse and certainly within East Lancashire."

He said children were getting booze from the home and were in danger of having an accident or getting into fights.

And he said doctors were now seeing people with cirrhosis in their 30s because of early-age drinking, where 20 to 30 years ago they would be treating people in their 50s and 60s.

Admissions for cirrhosis, the often-fatal disease of the liver, have also more than doubled, from eight to 19.

East Lancashire's most senior A&E doctor said young people were putting their lives at risk.

Dr Sanjoy Bhattacharyya, clinical operations director for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "Most of the young people who come here are drinking outside home. Most of them are brought in by ambulance. Some are semi-concious while some stagger in.

"They can fall and hit their head which is dangerous if they don't have someone who can help them.

"There is also a risk of choking on their own vomit. It is important if they collapse that they get medical attention and the best place is A&E."

Dr Bhattacharyya said doctors will monitor someone who is very drunk but stomach pumps are not used.

Mike Leaf, director of public health for Blackburn and Darwen and Hyndburn and Ribble Valley PCTs, said: "We have to recognise alcohol is part of our culture and we need a common strategy so it can be tackled through different organisations.

"Alcohol cuts across all our lives, it touches on everybody so figures like this must be reduced."

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson said: "It is very worrying and one of the main problems is young people drinking on the streets.

"A ban on street drinking is long overdue and the police must use their authority to confiscate alcohol from children who are under-age."

Burnley MP Kitty Ussher said: "The Government has put in place a range of actions to tackle the problem and give the police and local authorities much greater powers but I would encourage people to report incidents where they suspect alcohol is being sold to underage people."

The figures show 1,974 people were rushed to A&E in the three years from April 2003. Of these, 369 youngsters were aged 15 and under.

A total of 47 children aged 10 and under were seen by doctors at Burnley General Hospital. Numbers were only recorded at Blackburn's hospitals from early this year but these admissions are believed to outnumber those at Burnley.