EXTRA health workers are to be employed in Bolton to help cut the number of people dying from alcohol-related illnesses.

Figures show drink could become the borough's biggest cause of premature death within the next two years.

Now health chiefs have announced plans to employ extra staff by April, 2008, to help deal with alcohol problems in Bolton.

Jan Hutchinson, director of public health for Bolton Primary Care Trust, said: "There's a lot of evidence that people are drinking more than they should be, and this isn't binge drinking or limited to young people.

"We're starting to see the impact in terms of death rates."

Specialists are compiling an alcohol strategy which, it is hoped, will be ready by September. Family doctors are also being asked to explain the dangers of drinking above the recommended daily limits of two to three units for women and three to four units for men.

Ms Hutchinson said: "Most people visit their GP at least once in a 12-month period, so we will be using doctors to raise awareness of the dangers and advise people on cutting down on their drinking.

"At the moment, our alcohol treatment services are quite small and we will be developing them because more people need specialist support to get their drinking under control."

Men under the age of 75 in Bolton are 52 per cent more likely to die of chronic liver disease than the average British man, and women under 75 are 35 per cent more likely to die prematurely of the same condition.

Between April, 2004, and March, 2005, there were 1,527 people admitted to the Royal Bolton Hospital because of alcohol-related illness or injury.

In the same period, there were 1,940 incidents of alcohol-related violent crime in the borough.

It is calculated that men in Bolton are losing more than 11 months of their life because of drinking, while women are losing almost seven months.