There have been more than 9,700 alcohol-related admissions to the district’s hospitals over the last three and a half years, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal.

And more than 100 of those cases have involved people aged under 18.

A total of 8,987 admissions have been made to Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), while there were 738 admissions to Airedale General Hospital between April 2014 and October this year – a total of 9,725 for the two sites.

When broken down by age group, the most admissions to BRI were from people aged 50 to 59, with 2,271.

People aged between 41 and 50 are most likely to be admitted to Airedale, with 228, the figures show.

There was one admission to Airedale for a child aged between one and ten, while BRI had 121 admissions for under 18s.

Figures at both hospitals for alcohol-related admissions have reduced over this period.

At BRI, in the 2014/15 financial year, there were 2,669 admissions; in 2015/16 it was 2,421; in 2016/17 it was 2,385 and so far in the 2017/18 year it is 1,512.

Meanwhile, at Airedale, in 2014/15 there were 196 admissions; in 2015/16 it was 206; in 2016/17 it was 195 and so far in the 2017/18 it was 148.

Dr Paul Southern, consultant hepatologist at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Alcohol is a contributory factor to many other hospital admissions and 70 per cent of people in our A&E on a Saturday night are there because of alcohol.

“Alcohol and its misuse continues to put a significant strain on health and social services in Bradford, it is the biggest risk factor for death, ill-health and disability among 15-49 year-olds in the UK and costs the NHS nearly £4 billion a year.

“We continue to see younger and younger patients with severe damage caused by alcohol and have had patients in their early 20s die from chronic alcohol misuse.”

An Airedale NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said it refers adults patients with alcohol-related problems to Keighley-based charity Project Six, which offers advice and support around alcohol issues and meet with them monthly to discuss referral levels and cases.

He said: “At Airedale we’ve seen a general decline in the amount of alcohol-related admissions.

“When someone under the age of 18 presents in our emergency department with any symptoms that indicate self-harm, an eating disorder, panic attacks, drugs and alcohol, sexual health problems, mental health problems or injury from risky behaviour we use an assessment tool that identifies potential issues.”

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council’s portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said: “Tackling liver disease across the Bradford district is a high priority for the Council and the district’s three Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG).

“One way we reach those most at risk is through the substance misuse hospital liaison team working within hospital settings.

“Patients admitted to hospital with an alcohol-related health problem are being identified earlier by this team and referred for the help they need.”