British girls among heaviest binge-drinkers in Europe

GIRLS in the UK are some of the worst binge-drinkers in Europe, research shows.

Teenagers in England, Wales and Scotland were placed in three of the top six places in a drinking league table of 36 European nations as part of a study for the World Health Organisation.

It comes despite binge- drinking rates among British youngsters dipping in recent years. Girls were also more likely to drink heavily than boys, the research found.

University of St Andrews scientists compared the alcohol intake of 15-year-old girls between 2002 and 2014. It found that in most European nations, including Britain, the number of teenagers who had been drunk on at least two occasions had fallen.

But teenage girls in Britain remained some of the heaviest drinkers across the continent. Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance, told the Daily Telegraph drinking habits among young women could be affected by rising anxiety levels.