World Cup stirring a secret sickness

Young men in football shirts are turning up in A&E with no apparent physical injuries.

Their illness? Compulsive gambling. They’ve lost all their money and seek treatment for their addiction.

Referrals to special NHS clinics are up 65% on last year, and there are more than 400 gambling-related suicides every year in England.

In the last six months alone, 599 addicts have been offered treatment, up 42% on the same period last year.

These are appalling figures, yet the Government does nothing to halt predatory tactics by gambling firms including a boom in “in play” sports betting.

Watching the England game in the pub, I noticed a group of lads silently faffing with their iPhones rather than looking at the football.

One of them could be the next victim, who knows? The World Cup will bring fresh harm in its wake, but big profits to the betting firms.