Thousands of pregnant women in Staffordshire drink while expecting

Around 3,600 mothers-to-be in the county have admitted they have had a drink as a test case goes before the courts which could see it become illegal.

A council in the North West of England is seeking criminal injuries compensation for a six-year-old girl in care who has disabilities caused by her mother's alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Lawyers for child who cannot be named for legal reasons, are asking three judges at the Court of Appeal to rule whether the seven-year-old is entitled to compensation as a victim of violent crime after being born with an alcohol-related disorder.

If the appeal succeeds, it could pave the way for pregnant women's behaviour to be criminalised, according to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (bpas) and Birthrights.

Around 80 similar cases could be brought if the appeal is successful.

Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy said: "People need to realise the effect of drinking on their health. It will be interesting to see the outcome of the case and the impact it has.

"Alcohol abuse in general is a serious problem, and in particular it can have a devastating impact on young people. Getting drunk should not be seen as a rite of passage and we need to change that in our culture."

It comes as new figures in a study published by the Staffordshire director of public health also revealed more than 24,000 children aged 10 to 15 in the county have had an alcoholic drink over the last year - and 8,600 have been drunk at least once.

It has also shown that 200 adults in alcohol treatment are parents with childcare responsibilities.

Staffordshire County Council says awareness of the dangers of the alcohol is being improved among youngsters, with more than 33,000 being given information at school.

Cannock Council leader George Adamson said the extent of alcohol abuse was a concern and labelled the figures 'shocking'.

He said: "They are absolutely dreadful. Children getting drunk as young as 10 is terrible.

"I think in a lot of cases the parents need to take responsibility and stop their children drinking. In some of the cases I think the parents are even giving them the drink themselves.

"It has major effects on them in later life and can cause some serious health issues."

Staffordshire's director of public health, Dr Aliko Ahmed, said: "We are all more than familiar with the harmful impacts of alcohol misuse as we so often see - alcohol-fuelled violence, disruption on the streets in the night-time economy, increasing demand on emergency services, the impact on our health and the rates of long-term conditions such as liver disease."