The tragic toll drinking is taking on the district is revealed in a massive surge in hospital admissions for alcohol-related diseases.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show Bradford Royal Infirmary has seen a 125 per cent increase in alcohol-related admissions over the last five years, while Airedale General Hospital, has seen a 102 per cent increase since 2005.

In 2005, a total of 282 people were admitted to BRI for alcohol-related illnesses such as chronic liver disease. By 2010 this had shot up to 635.

In 2005/2006, 57 people were admitted to Airedale Hospital. By 2010/2011, this had increased to 115.

And with a quarter of all adults drinking at hazardous levels, thousands more are putting themselves at risk of potentially fatal diseases such as serious liver disease, stomach disorders, pancreatitis, high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers and mental health problems.

On the first day of the district’s Alcohol Awareness Week medical experts warn these admission figures are just the tip of the iceberg as they do not include people attending A&E or outpatients being treated for alcohol related problems in the gastroenterology services.

However, a survey carried out in 2008 revealed that 36 per cent of A&E attendees at BRI were drinking at a hazardous level, which may equate to 32,000 alcohol-related A&E attendances a year.

After midnight, around 70 per cent of patients attending BRI through A&E are there because of alcohol – many incapacitated and needing somewhere safe to sleep it off, while others have been assaulted or in road traffic accidents.

Dr Chris Healey, consultant gastroenterologist at Airedale Hospital, said the country had been “sleepwalking” towards a situation he called “tragic”, with alcohol becoming a major killer, often of young people, and admissions to hospitals for alcohol-related diseases topping one million nationally for the first time in 2009/2010.

“It is a fairly grim picture,” he said. “Alcohol is a drug that does huge harm to our society. The impact on health is appalling. You start vomiting blood, go bright yellow, your abdomen swells.

“We see it every week.

“People are often in denial – the country is in denial – it is time we woke up.”

Dr Healey said people had become “ambivalent” towards alcohol as it became more socially-acceptable, licensing laws relaxed and prices plunged.

“Supermarkets should take a long look in the mirror and stop selling it at heavily-discounted prices which attract young people, who become lifelong consumers of the product.

“It is a difficult thing to talk about because the Government gets a lot of revenue from the drinks industry, but it is clear from all around the world that if you increase cost, you decrease consumption.”

He said health problems occurred not just with the amount of alcohol consumed, but also the frequency. “If you have three units every day it could lead to dependency,” he said. “People should not drink for two to four days each week and people should not binge. It is a myth that a little bit of alcohol is good for you. All alcohol consumption is risky and people should be very wary,” he added.“We are winning so many other health battles, but losing the battle against alcohol.”

The health impact of alcohol misuse costs the Bradford district £17 million a year and the cost to human life is just as high, with deaths from chronic liver disease being significantly worse in the Bradford district than other parts of the Yorkshire and Humber region. In 2009, 17.4 males and 7.2 females, per 100,000 of the population died as a direct result of alcohol abuse in the Bradford district.

While doctors see people from all walks of life and postcodes, there are local hot spots where more than a quarter of all hospital admissions are because of alcohol. These are in Holme Wood, central parts of Keighley and Shipley, and a strip of Bradford extending from just north of the city centre, through Bolton and Undercliffe, to Barkerend and Bowling.

With no let-up in the availability of cheap booze and people starting drinking at a younger age and letting social drinking spiral out of control, Dr Paul Southern, consultant hepatologist, at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, predicts the numbers being admitted to hospital because of alcohol will continue to rise over the next five years.

He blamed “pocket money” prices for getting youngsters hooked on alcohol. “The biggest issue is pricing,” he said. “Alcohol has never been so cheap and it is the reason I am seeing people in their 20s and 30s absolutely on the edge. The youngest I have seen die is 23 and we should not forget about the impact this has on their relatives.”

He added: “We are trying to capture people before they are damaged by alcohol. Everyone who attends A&E is asked if they drink alcohol.

“We can offer them advice or an appointment at a special clinic in A&E where there is no stigma attached to attending.”