Children get drunk for first time at 12, finds study

CHILDREN are starting to drink from as young as 12 years and as many as one-fifth of teenagers in some parts of the country drink at least six times a month, research has found.

A study of almost 2,000 15-to-17-year-olds in the midlands and north-east reveals that children are getting drunk for the first time at an average age of 13 or 14.

But around one-in-10 boys and girls in both regions reported being drunk for the first time at 12, some even earlier.