MORE than a third of young women said in a survey they had been sexually assaulted after getting drunk - and almost as many said they had had

unprotected sex. Mike Laycock examines how hen night revellers in York are putting themselves - and others - at risk.

IT'S a sight which leaves many men hastily and nervously crossing the road. Loud, boisterous and shrill, with very little clothing and very, very drunk.

The hen party is a growing phenomenon in York city centre on Friday and Saturday nights.

Cabbie Mark Wharfedale, who chairs York Taxi Association, reckons drunken women are leaving men behind when it comes to behaving badly, and knows which ones he least likes in his vehicle.

"I would rather take four miners back to Selby than two women back to their hotel," he said.

"Their behaviour can be appalling - shocking."

But the statistics released yesterday by the Portman Group, a campaigning body funded by the drinks industry, reveal they are as much a danger to themselves as others.

One thousand people were questioned in a survey.

Thirty-six per cent of women said they had been attacked after drinking too much, compared to two per cent of men, and 34 per cent of young women said they had had unplanned or unprotected sex after drinking too much.

More women than men admitted they had been arrested or cautioned by police while under the influence.

Nearly a fifth of the female interviewees said they had been injured through an accident after getting drunk and more than half the young women questioned had got into an argument while drunk, compared to 45 per cent of men.

Jean Coussins, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: "What is most alarming of all is the fact that young women seem to be risking more than young men," she said.

"They are getting into more fights, more arguments and are being arrested or cautioned by the police more than young men."

Alison Tubbs, service manager for York Alcohol Advice Service, says there had been a huge change over the past decade in the proportions of men and women seeking advice.

"Ten years ago, our referrals would be predominantly male rather than female - perhaps 75-25," she said. "Now it's more or less 50/50."

She said many people referred themselves because they recognised their drinking was causing them a problem.

Many were concerned because they had had unprotected sex while drunk, putting them at risk of a sexually-transmitted disease as well as pregnancy. Others were concerned because they were getting into arguments with their partners, relatives or friends when drunk.

The average age of clients had also fallen, from 45-55 previously to 30-35 now.

Carol Patrick, of the Safer York Partnership, said a York alcohol impact study earlier this year had shown that 18,000 women were drinking over the recommended daily limit, an estimated 2,300 women were drinking at harmful levels and 7,700 were regularly binge drinking.

She said women put themselves at increased risk of having their drinks spiked when they were drunk, which increased the risk of sexual assault.

"Women expose themselves to all sorts of dangers when they drink to excess, including lack of capacity to decide on a sexual liaison and no memory of the encounter after the event," she said.

"This of course could result in sexually transmitted disease, unwanted pregancy, and the potentially serious and enduring effects of both.

"The loss of personal dignity which follows binge drinking amnesia, should not be underestimated either."

TAXI drivers told today how binge-drinking in York had grown steadily worse in recent years - and how they end up taking the brunt.

Alan Rowley, secretary of the York Taxi Association, said some customers were now getting so drunk that they get into the taxi, and were then unable to say where they wanted to go.

"And everyone seems more aggressive nowadays," said Alan, who has worked on a self-employed basis for the past eight years, picking up from ranks at the station and around the city centre.

"You get more people refusing to pay or unable to pay. And they don't understand why you can't allow five people in when you're only licensed for four. They ask why they can't go in the boot or on the floor.

"It has definitely got worse. It doesn't help when certain pubs run special promotions offering trebles for the price of a single. It would help if they stopped such promotions."

Alan, who is also secretary of the York Licensed Victuallers' Association, said he been "fortunate" in that he had only twice had to deal with customers vomiting in the back of his vehicle.

He said plans by city centre nightclubs to operate marshals in the street outside might assist taxi drivers. As for pubs and clubs opening later under new licensing laws, he said: "Time will tell."

Judy Horwell, police liaison officer for the association, said binge drinking in York had got "much worse".

"I work at a rank in St Saviourgate and I've noticed more fighting," she said.

"People don't know what their limit is and drink excessively. I know some drivers get people being sick in the back of their cabs and some who forget where they live.

"There is a lot more aggression.

"I wish I knew the answer. We definitely need CCTV at our rank."

Association chairman Mark Wharfedale stressed that there were many late-night customers who knew when they had had enough - but a section were behaving very badly indeed.

He revealed he had been through a four-week period when four different customers had urinated in his vehicle. "It wasn't drunken young men - three were middle-aged women on a night out. I think it was probably 'accidental delivery.'

"Some of the behaviour is appalling - shocking."

Updated: 10:32 Wednesday, September 28, 2005