Official figures have showed that more than 6,000 children aged 10 to 15 were given police cautions or taken to court for abusing alcohol between 2003 and 2007.

A total of 39,714 children aged 17 and under in England and Wales were fined, cautioned or taken to court for alcohol-related offences, including 124 children aged 10 to 12 and 6,111 aged 13 to 15.

The Liberal Democrats said the figures were “shocking” and called for an end to the sale of alcohol ”pocket-money prices”.

They said the number of under-18s involved in alcohol-related offences had increased by 28.4% from 6,764 in 2003 to 8,686 in 2007 and the number of 13 to 15 year-olds given cautions increased by 17.4%. The number of 13 to 15 year-olds taken to court rose  alsoby 19.9% in the same period, which is the latest period that figures are available for.

Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, who obtained the figures, said they “painted a shocking picture” of how many children were “dragged into the criminal justice system through alcohol abuse”.

He said:

“The problem appears to be growing worse by leaps and bounds. Ministers talk a lot about the alcohol crisis in this country but have completely failed to tackle it.

“Unless we change our drinking culture, we will condemn many of these children and adolescents to serious long-term alcohol-related illnesses or a life of crime.

“We must put an end to alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices and start educating our children about the dangers of drink or these figures will continue to get worse.

“Rather than more posturing, the Government should enforce a strict policy that those who sell alcohol to under-age children will lose their licence.”