A HARD-hitting plan has been drawn up to reduce alcohol and drug abuse in Bury after it was ranked amongst the worst boroughs in the country.

Bury was listed out in 309th place out of 326 areas across the country when it comes to life expectancy for people suffering from alcohol and drug-related problems, according to national statistics from September 2014.

A newly-published council report shows 32,000 — almost one fifth — of the borough’s residents binge drink, including almost a quarter of 14 to 17 year olds.

In some cases, children end up having to care for their addict parents and some who abuse alcohol also get hooked on cocaine and heroin.

Councillors, police and health workers have come up with a three-year project to target the problem.

The report says more needs to be done to put people off drinking and taking drugs and those that do suffer problems should be given more effective treatment and help with their recovery.

A binge drinker is classed as someone who regularly drinks more than the number of daily alcohol units recommended by the NHS.

Bury Council's health representative, Cllr Andrea Simpson, said: "It is concerning that Bury has more binge drinkers than the national average.

"It is a key priority for Bury to tackle drugs and alcohol misuse/dependency as it has a negative impact on the whole community and especially in creating health inequalities.

"The strategy sets out a sensible action plan for tackling these really important issues."

The report includes a wide range of statistics about alcohol and drugs abuse in Bury, such as:

* More women suffer alcohol-related deaths in Bury than anywhere else in Greater Manchester.

* 29,000 of the borough's residents are aged over 65s and "alcohol misuse and its related problems are becoming more common in this age category."

* In the six months up to the end of June 2014, 130 Bury residents were referred to the alcohol-liaison service at Fairfield Hospital and there are 540 others being treated for alcohol or drug addiction elsewhere, 81 of whom are addicted to prescription medicines. Of those currently seeking such help, 44 per cent care for children.

The report said: "Substance misuse can reduce the ability of parents to care for their children and, in some cases, young children become carers of addicted parents.

"This can result in serious consequences, including neglect, educational problems, emotional difficulties, abuse and the possibility of becoming drug and alcohol misusers themselves.”

Of the children taken into care in Bury, parental drug and alcohol abuse was a major contributing factor in more than half of all cases.

Almost a third of 14 to 17 year olds from Bury who took part in a survey said they illegally bought alcohol themselves.

"Data from Trading Standards indicates that 77 per cent of young people in Bury think drinking is fun and 61 per cent regard it as normal to get drunk," the report added.

Nearly half of under 18s assessed by the Youth Offending Service abuse drugs.

Cllr Simpson expressed concern at the figures and added: "It's never cost effective just tackling the cause of these problems.

"It's better for everyone to have a preventative approach that includes better educating our young people about the harm caused by drugs and alcohol and the knock-on effects for not only family, but for the community and services provision.

"That is why it's important to have a whole system approach to tackling these issues."

Under the strategy, the council will work with other authorities to ensure public sector workers can identify people with alcohol and drug addiction problems and can recommend the right help for them.

Some Bury Council staff will be given special training so they how to recognise the signs of substance misuse and can take the appropriate action.

Staff will work with schools and colleges to teach youngsters about the dangers of drugs, while there will be a greater effort to "identify children and young people at risk through accident and emergency (A&E) admissions".

The council also wants to set up a peer support group to help people recovering from substance abuse.