WOMEN behaving badly in York are putting themselves at risk from binge drinking.

Girls on nights out in the city are fuelling up on bargain-basement booze and trying to drink men under the table, as the ladette culture gets a grip.

But they are not only damaging their health by downing alcopops and cheap cocktails, they are putting their safety at risk on the streets, a health expert warned today.

The message came as the Government unveiled plans to tackle Britain's booze culture, which has seen a massive rise in the number of young women arrested for drunkenness and antisocial behaviour in York.

York University health studies professor Christine Godfrey, who has studied the economic effects of alcohol for the last 20 years, said women need to realise the threats posed by heavy drinking, especially to their health.

"Women definitely need to be more aware of the risks they take," she said.

"We need strong action on alcohol. It is our favourite drug, yet far more money has gone into sorting out drug-related problems."

On Monday, the Government unveiled its Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy, the first national plan to deal with the British boozing culture, which costs an estimated £20 billion a year - more than any other legal or illegal drug.

"We live in a very drink-reliant culture and drink is not seen as a risky thing, whereas taking other mind-altering substances is," said Prof Godfrey..

"There is a great deal of peer pressure. If we go back a few centuries, gin-soaked women were a social issue, but I think there has been a change in attitude in young women. They want to prove they can drink as much as the men."

Last month, the Evening Press reported that booze-fuelled women had helped push drink-related disorder on York's streets to record levels.

A total of 838 people were prosecuted for public order offences in 2003, with 476 being drink-related. Of these, 22 per cent were female.

Prof Godfrey said: "The efforts of the police and licensing authorities have been good, but they are battling against a rising tide of quite antisocial behaviour."

Geoff Henman, pubs officer for the York branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, said. "We are lucky enough in York to have well-trained door staff, so pubs themselves tend to be trouble-free. This means, however, that trouble erupts on the streets instead.

"I know the police used to like the Micklegate Run because they knew where the trouble was going to be and they could control it. Now they have the whole city centre to worry about."

Government guidelines recommend women consume no more than 14 alcoholic units per week, or two to three units per day.

But research by Alcohol Concern found the proportion of women drinking in excess of 14 units a week rose from ten per cent in 1988 to 15 per cent in 2001, with women aged under 25 more likely to consume alcohol in one or two binge sessions.

Prof Godfrey believes female-focused advertising, the proliferation of sweet, high-strength alcopops, and a fall in the price of booze relative to income are behind this shift.

"It is part of the general trend that alcohol consumption has been increasing because alcohol has become more affordable," she said.

Updated: 10:26 Friday, March 19, 2004