DERBYSHIRE has a binge-drinking problem, say health officials – and it's not just the teenagers who vomit and urinate in the street at the weekend.

Drinkers who quietly go through a bottle of wine at home can also be storing up health concerns for the future.

Anyone who drinks more than double the daily recommended amount is classified as a binge-drinker – 18% of people aged 16 and over in Derby and 17% in the rest of the county.

This equates to a staggering 141,000 adults – and this is in addition to the thousands of alcoholics across Derbyshire who are dependent on drink and need professional help.

Andrew Austin, a specialist in liver conditions at Derby City General Hospital, has already warned that a rising number of people in Derby who drink alcohol regularly but have never been addicted to it are developing serious liver problems.

And Alison Pritchard, a consultant in public health at Derbyshire County Primary Care Trust, said binge-drinking could lead to other long-term health problems.

She said: "People at home could be binge-drinking and not even know.

"One bottle of wine is nine or 10 units, and for a couple to get through a bottle-and-a-half in one evening is not unheard. I think people don't realise how much they drink.

"There are no safe limits for drinking. Even drinking under the limit could still increase the risk of certain long-term health problems.

"For example, we know that women who have only one or two units a week increase their risk of breast cancer."

In Derbyshire, all manner of tactics have now been put in place to tackle binge-drinkers, from overhauling the treatment service to getting touring theatre groups to perform in primary schools.

Bars are being encouraged to be more responsible towards their customers and volunteers are out on the streets every weekend promoting sensible drinking. But the question is – is it working?

Alasdair Kay works as a street pastor, one of a group of churchgoers who help late-night revellers in Derby by helping them get into taxis and giving them first aid.

He continues to witness shocking behaviour: "Typically on a Friday or Saturday night you'll see people vomiting and urinating in the street and you regularly see assaults on women by both other women and men, which I found quite shocking.

"I'm concerned for future generations about the level of alcohol consumption. The culture is that social drinking equals drunkenness – it's not drinking in moderation."

Steps being taken to tackle binge-drinking in Derby include the Community Safety Partnership's Best Bar None scheme.

It encourages all bars in the city to promote responsible drinking – including the introduction of special poly-carbonate glasses to reduce assaults using bottles or traditional glasses.

And in February, the Derby Telegraph revealed that millions of pounds of extra cash would be invested in treating alcohol-related health problems in the city.

The city's Community Safety Partnership is finalising contracts with organisations which will begin running three related services from June next year.

These will be a community treatment centre where people can drop in for help and advice – a service which could be used by binge-drinkers.

Across the rest of the county, work has included the recently-launched £25,000 Cocktales campaign to encourage young people to drink responsibly.

This has included releasing two controversial awareness-raising videos which were posted on YouTube and featured actors playing drunk.

And local initiatives will be given a helping hand by Home Office plans to impose a mandatory code of conduct for bars, clubs and off-licences. It looks set to mean a reduction in cheap drink offers and promotions.

But despite the steps being taken, Derby has the highest number of hospital admissions for alcohol-related issues in the East Midlands. Across the rest of the county that figure is in line with the national average.

Among those being hospitalised are an estimated 25,000 adults in Derbyshire who are alcoholics – officially dependent drinkers. But officials are alarmed by the far greater number who are drinking too much but may not realise the health effects.

Richard Martin, based at Derby Community Safety Partnership and responsible for overseeing the city's alcohol strategy, said the situation would improve.

He said: "I think once these measures are in place we will see a marked reduction in drinking and an improvement in health but it won't be overnight.

"You can't overturn an established drinking culture overnight but what you can do is create a whole fabric including marketing, treatment and initiatives which will help those who need treatment and slowly change the drinking culture to one that is safe and sensible."

And Ms Pritchard said she was concerned by hospital admissions across Derbyshire, despite them being average for the UK.

She said: "Even though we're average, it's still a huge concern because alcohol-related hospital admissions nationally are rising and Derbyshire is following that trend. There's been a lot of effort in trying to stop the trend using prevention and education, treatment and support, and community safety initiatives.

"I wouldn't say it's recent, certainly I've been involved in alcohol work for 18 months to two years."

Like Mr Martin, she said that the impact of much of the work would take a long time to be felt.

She said: "With long-term conditions, some of the work, such as preventing people from getting alcohol-related cancers, won't impact for another 20 to 30 years.

"And I'd be hard-put to say that the Cocktales campaign will result in a certain number of reduced hospital admissions.

"Hospitalisation is an end-point and there are other aspects of drinking which take place in our community which could be having an impact but are not reflected in the hospital admission figure."