NEARLY one in four people in York have indulged in binge-drinking, new figures show.

The National Centre for Social Research (NCSR) has estimated that 22.9 per cent of the city's population aged 16 and over indulged in binge-drinking.

That is 4.7 per cent above the figure for England for the same period in 2000-02, which NCSR estimated was 18.2 per cent. York's population is about 184,941.

Dr David Fair, of the Jorvik Medical Practice, in Stonebow, York, said the finding did not surprise him.

He said: "In my surgery and at the police station and in casualty, I frequently see large numbers of people who have illnesses which are directly attributable to alcohol abuse."

NCSR estimated that, during the same period, 20.3 per cent of Selby's population aged 16 and over indulged in binge-drinking. The town's population is about 77,212.

Binge-drinking is defined by North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust (PCT) as "drinking six or more units for women or eight or more units for men in one session".

Other data which appears in a report, considered at a meeting of the PCT's board last week, revealed it was estimated that, in 2005, 24.6 per cent of York's population were "hazardous drinkers" meaning people who are "consuming between 22 and 50 units per week."

The data showed it was estimated that, during the same period, 20.1 per cent of England's population were hazardous drinkers - 4.5 per cent less than in York.

Meanwhile, health bosses at the PCT, along with the police, the probation service and local authorities, are set to roll out the North Yorkshire and York Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, which was accepted at the meeting.

The precise nature of the strategy has not yet been finalised, but it will seek to reduce harm to health and well-being, stamp out anti-social behaviour and crack-down on violent crime.

Melanie Bradbury, assistant director of vulnerable people commissioning at the PCT, said of the strategy: "If we've got someone who's an alcoholic, it's services to help them not be an alcoholic, to get them off alcohol and provide them with counselling and therapies." Mrs Bradbury said money would need to be invested into raising awareness, such as enabling motorists who have been drinking alcohol to be able to tell before they get into their vehicle if they are over the legal limit.

She said that, as part of the strategy, the PCT would be, along with its partners, adopting a "unified approach".