ONE of the North-East's leading consultants has called for an increase in alcohol prices to stop people drinking themselves to death.

Professor Mike Bramble, a consultant gastro-enterologist at James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, made his call after research revealed Britons were dying from cirrhosis of the liver at a faster rate than people anywhere else in western Europe.

The research shows that deaths from cirrhosis of the liver are soaring in the UK while falling in other European countries.

In the 1980s and 1990s, cirrhosis death rates for men more than doubled in Scotland, and rose by over two thirds in England and Wales.

The numbers of women dying increased by almost a half in both regions during the same period.

Although some European countries still had high rates, these countries experienced a 20 to 30 per cent decline since the early 1970s.

Experts blamed the increase in deaths on excessive drinking and accused the Government of ignoring the problem.

The authors, Professor David Leon, from the London School of Hygiene, and Dr Jim McCambridge, from King's College, London, said the increase in deaths was "extremely worrying and needs to be urgently addressed".

The Lancet research paper follows a report last month that alcohol-related deaths in the North-East have soared by 27 per cent since Tony Blair came to power. In North Yorkshire, there was a 38.5 per cent increase over the same period.

A total of 430 people died from alcohol-related diseases in the North-East last year, compared with 339 in 1997, according to statistics released to MPs.

In North Yorkshire, the number of deaths jumped from 39 to 54 during the same period.

Alcohol consumption in the UK doubled between 1960 and 2002.

Prof Bramble, who is also medical director at the 1,000-bed Teesside hospital, said: "When I became a consultant 23 years ago, you would see one or two people on the ward with cirrhosis of the liver.

"Now it is probably half the ward."

He said the trend had accelerated in the past five years. Many were people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, including an increasing number of women.

Prof Bramble added: "You should double the tax on drink. When prices go up, consumption goes down. Drink is far too cheap.

"If you are a woman, a bottle of wine a day will kill you."

About one in ten heavy drinkers may develop cirrhosis, he warned. He is also worried about the relaxation of the licensing laws.

"Government policy is hopeless. It is making it worse rather than better," the professor said.