Top doctor calls for £100 fines for people caught drunk in public

Plastic surgeon Peter Mahaffey said police should penalise anyone causing a nuisance or found to be more than three times over the drink-drive limit.

In a letter to the British Medical Journal, Mr Mahaffey said the action would reduce needless injuries caused by glassings, brawls and accidents.

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Binge Britain: Leading medic Peter Mahaffey is calling for a £100 fine for people drunk in public

Mr Mahaffey said in his job at Bedford Hospital, he sees the results of "glassings to the face, kids driving when they shouldn't and the problem of cutting of nerves in the hands".

He added: "If you can frown on drunken driving and fine people for it, why should we not do the same with drunkenness and anti-social behaviour?"

The proposal comes after Chancellor Alistair Darling increased tax on alcohol to crack down on binge drinkers.

The six per cent above-inflation increases will see beer up 4p a pint, wine up 14p a bottle and spirits up 55p a bottle.

But Mr Mahaffey said measures such as raising the price of alcohol do not go far enough.

"I am a plastic surgeon in a general hospital and we are at the sharp end of the problem of drunkenness, especially in young people," the respected medic said.

He added he did not want to see police roaming the streets looking for people who were tipsy, but that seriously drunk people who were causing a social problem should be targeted

"After two or three months we will find a change in attitude."

• Up to 60,000 doctors will be trained over the next decade to treat problem drinkers.

Within three nyears, every medical school in England will have alcohol training on the curriculum, said Health Minister Dawn Primarolo.