More people in Islington are hospitalised by drinking too much than in any other London borough, new figures have revealed today.

A leading councillor said it highlights a problem that has blighted Islington “for some time”.

According to Public Health England, the borough had the 31st highest rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions in England for 2013/14.

For every 100,000 hospital visits, 800.8 were related to drinking. Blackpool had the highest rate, at 1230.5, with Stoke-on-Trent second with 982.5.

Islington was the only London borough in the top 50. Haringey had the second highest number of admissions in London, with 663 per 100.000.

Cllr Janet Burgess, deputy leader of Islington Council and executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “There is still deprivation in the borough and this goes with it.

“It’s very concerning. It’s damaging to individuals, physically and mentally, but also families, friends and communities.

“We have been aware of this for some time. We realise we have the second highest number of licensed premises in London.

“We’re trying to reduce consumption by raising awareness, for example working with shopkeepers to reduce the sale of high-volume beers. Some of them have amazing levels of alcohol in them.

“We have actually seen people pay attention to this in licensing applications, by saying they won’t sell these beers. So the message is getting through.”

Satya McBirnie, team manager at Islington Community Alcohol Service, said: “We’ve seen an increase in the number of people coming through our doors in the last year, so this doesn’t surprise me at all.

“But a lot of work has been done about this, and Islington is one of the only boroughs left that has a dedicated alcohol service, and should be commended for that.”