MORE than 700 young people were admitted to Poole Hospital last year because of alcohol-related problems, it has been revealed.

The shock figure comes after a national report showed nearly 54,000 under-25s were admitted to hospitals in England for problems or injuries triggered by drink in 2005-6.

Before the report, compiled for the Department of Health, official figures for alcohol-related admissions did not take into account injuries from drink-fuelled accidents and violence.

The new figures added around 20,000 to the year's total, and included road traffic accidents and assaults as well as alcohol poisoning, liver disease and behavioural disorders.

Now Poole Hospital has estimated that in 2007-8, more than 700 people under 25 were admitted with conditions that were wholly or partly down to their alcohol consumption.

The figure does not include people who go into the emergency department as a result of drinking too much and are sent home after treatment.

"Excessive drinking can lead to people coming to hospital for a wide variety of reasons, as the new national figures indicate, and we would urge young people to think seriously about the health risks associated with alcohol," said a spokeswoman for Poole Hospital NHS Trust.

The Royal Bournemouth Hospital saw a huge rise in under-25s admitted and subsequently diagnosed with alcohol-related conditions. In 2006, the figure was 22, but in 2007 it had more than doubled to 47.

The numbers treated for alcohol-related problems in the emergency department went down from 206 in 2006 to 141 the following year. The hospital does not deal with patients under the age of 16, who are sent to Poole.

Yesterday, the Daily Echo reported fears that one Bournemouth nightclub's decision to price drinks at just 80p on Monday nights could trigger a price war - and an escalation of drunken and antisocial behaviour on the town centre's streets.