A weekly newspaper reporter used the Freedom of Information Act to write a front-page exclusive highlighting teenage drink and drug abuse.

The reaction to the story has been so strong that Ashfield District Council is discussing creating a new cabinet position responsible for crime and disorder among teenagers.

The investigation by Stephen Thirkill, chief reporter at the Ashfield Chad in Nottinghamshire, was sparked by a letter he received from a local councillor.

In it, the councillor expressed fears over the level of drink and drug abuse by youngsters in the area.

Stephen submitted an FoI request to King's Mill Hospital, in Sutton-in-Ashfield, and consequently wrote three exclusive stories for the Ashfield and Mansfield Chad which have since been followed up by ITV.

Stephen told holdthefrontpage: "The hospital was fine with my request and they put me in touch with local Drug Abuse Resistance Education services.

"It was a good way of getting debate going and highlight what they're doing.

"Certainly with drink there's a problem. Mansfield has the highest underage drinking level in Nottinghamshire.

"The town has quite a reputation for binge drinking among adults too."

The research showed that 104 under-16s, some aged just 11, were admitted to the hospital for alcohol-related illnesses in 2007 while 100 under-16s went to A&E for drug problems.

The information obtained also showed that the volume of teenagers admitted to the hospital through drug misuse increased as they got older.

Stephen added that generally people he had spoken to were grateful for the story's exposure.

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