PARENTS’ alcohol abuse is damaging the lives of more than 4,000 teenagers in Dorset, according to new research.

The Children’s Society’s evidence reveals the seriousness and complexity of the problems facing young people.

The breakdown for Dorset for the amount of teens affected includes 1,000 in west Dorset, 600 in Weymouth and Portland, 400 in Purbeck and 800 in north Dorset.

The pressures on teenagers from homes where alcohol or drugs are being misused, can lead to them developing mental health problems, running away or being excluded from school, The Children’s Society warns.

Chief Executive Matthew Reed said: “Millions of teenagers in the UK are suffering in silence with problems that would floor an adult. The hundreds of thousands of children whose parent has a drinking problem are sadly just the tip of the iceberg of children in desperate need of support. At a time when demand for children’s services is rising, severe funding cuts from central government are leaving more and more to deal with these huge problems alone.”

He added: “Specialist services working with families to combat problem drinking, support for teenagers whose parent has mental ill health, or safe spaces for them to go when pressures at home mount, are becoming harder to find. Without support at an early stage as problems emerge, these families can quickly reach crisis point and the risks for the children involved grow.”

The analysis demonstrates that the problems teenagers face are rarely standalone, but interwoven with other serious issues.

Almost a quarter of teenagers from homes plagued by alcohol misuse were also taking on caring responsibilities at home – these could be domestic chores, taking care of siblings or nursing parents suffering from withdrawal. Adult mental health problems and longstanding illness or disability were also commonplace in these homes, indicating that adults may be self-medicating with alcohol to cope with these and other stressors in the family.

The Children’s Society argues that local services are crucial to make sure children in families affected by alcohol misuse are identified and that they are kept safe and well, but as cuts to children’s services bite, the early intervention services that could identify struggling young people and provide targeted support have shrunk across the UK.

The charity is calling on the government to urgently address the £2bn funding gap for local council children’s services.