MORE than 84,000 people were admitted to North-East hospitals last year after drinking too much, according to new figures.

The statistics confirm that the region has the highest rate of alcohol-related admissions in England.

Last year's total exceeded the previous year  by 4,100.

The increase in hospitalisations pushed up the rate of admissions in the North-East from 2,597 per 100,000 of the population to 3,156 per 100,000 residents.

This comfortably exceeded the rate recorded in the next worst area, North-West England, which saw 2,795 per 100,000 admitted last year.

The North-East rate is well above the average for English regions, which stood at 2,298 per 100,000 residents. North Yorkshire and York had 17,200 alcohol-related admissions last year - a rate of 1,937 per 100,000 residents.

The data, provided by Health and Social Care Information (HSCIC) showed that nationally, the number of prescriptions handed out to help treat alcoholism has increased by 73 per cent in the last decade.

The amount of drugs handed out in England to help alcoholics achieve abstinence or to help prevent them from relapsing increased from 102,741 in 2003 to 178,247 in 2012.

HSCIC data also show that the number of hospital admissions related to drinking has more than doubled in the same period.

In 2011/12, there were 1.2m hospital admissions in England attributed to drinking - a sharp increase from 2002/03, when the figure stood at 510,700.

Emily Robinson, director of campaigns at charity Alcohol Concern, said: "These figures show that the problems caused by alcohol misuse continue to rise, which is putting an increasing strain on our NHS.

"The report highlights that the number of admissions to hospital for alcohol-related issues have risen by over 50 per cent in the last ten years. The Government must get a grip and implement measures that will prevent this urgent situation from getting worse."

Colin Shevills, director of Balance, the North-East Alcohol Office, said: "The statistics issued today continue to paint a bleak picture for the North-East.

"There is a direct correlation between alcohol misuse and its price. The Government has a clear opportunity to deal with this by introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol."

A Department of Health spokesman said: "These figures prove that alcohol is causing harm to the health of hundreds of thousands of people and we must continue to act.

"That is why we are already improving prevention by funding alcohol risk assessments at GPs and encouraging increased access to alcohol liaison nurses in hospitals."