THERE has been an alarming increase in the number of people – including children – admitted to the region’s hospitals after injecting anabolic steroids, figures reveal.

The number of admissions for poisoning from the musclebuilding drugs has leapt by 81 per cent in four years in the North-East, from 105 to 190.

The increase was even sharper in Yorkshire – a neardoubling of admissions, from 93 to 180.

Across England, there was a 66 per cent rise, between 2003-4 and 2007-8.

Most worryingly, the tally last year included five children in the North-East and 18 in Yorkshire.

A total of 138 under-18s ended up in hospital nationwide.

The number of 11 to 15-yearolds who admit to taking steroids has nearly doubled since 2001, from 6,800 to 13,300, according to the latest Department of Health (DoH) research.

Experts fear the rising numbers who end up in hospital is indicative of the general increase in the use of the drug by those in search of the “perfect body”.

Anabolic steroids are chemically produced Class C drugs that mimic testosterone and can be bought on the internet or through dealers at gyms.

They increase muscle development, particularly in the neck, shoulders, chest and arm muscles, and can improve the body’s capacity to train and compete.

They have been identified as causing liver problems and mood swings and an increase in aggressiveness – known as “roid rage”. Martin Baines, chief executive of Drugscope, said: “Any evidence of a rise in hospital admissions linked to steroid misuse is clearly a cause for concern and highlights the considerable risks attached to using the drugs.

“Steroids may be viewed as offering a short cut to the perfect body image, but the reality can be quite different.

“Side effects can include kidney and liver problems, high blood pressure, increased aggression and reduced sperm count for men, while those injecting steroids and sharing needles risk exposure to blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C or HIV.

“These risks need to be communicated effectively – gyms, drug and health services should provide information and support about steroid use.”

The increasing problem regarding the use of the drugs was revealed to Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Tom Brake, in a parliamentary answer from the Department of Health.

It is lawful to possess steroids for personal use, but illegal to import or supply them.

However, only four people have received cautions and 14 people have been found guilty of supplying steroids over the past five years.

Mr Brake said: “Ministers need to wake up to the fact that anabolic steroids are no longer just a problem that affects sports like body-building, but also an issue for the whole of society.

“In the run-up to the Olympics, the Government needs to send a clear message by tackling those who are supplying these drugs and making possession without a prescription illegal.”

Last year, the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs wrote to the Home Secretary, warning it was “increasingly concerned at the use of anabolic steroids by the general public and, in particular, young people”.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government recognises the harms associated with anabolic steroid use.”