Almost 10,000 people arrested in Northern Ireland this year had been boozing, it has been revealed.

Nearly half of all detentions since January involved alcohol.

That included most arrests on weekend nights, the Policing Board disclosed.

Claire Armstrong, director of a charity dealing with drunk offenders, said there was a growing problem.

“Certainly there's been a cultural change around drinking. Alcohol is comparatively 60% cheaper than 30 years ago, that leads to greater availability and misuse of alcohol which can lead to behaviour people may otherwise not engage in were they not under the influence,” she said.

A total of 46% of arrests since January 1 were related to alcohol, Ulster Unionist Policing Board member Basil McCrea said.

More than 20,000 people have been arrested since the start of the year and 46% (9,557) consumed alcohol shortly before being detained.

A total of 77% of arrests on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights were alcohol-related.

Ms Armstrong, who heads the Northern Ireland Community Addiction Service (NICAS) which sees around 1,000 people a year for a range of addictions, said many responded well to treatment.

Their work with people forced by the courts to seek treatment is limited to the greater Belfast area for funding reasons.

“The person could be quite addicted, at age 35 that could be the first time they have engaged in counselling,” she added.

Mr McCrea said there appeared to be more serious violent crime.

“We need to ask ourselves some hard questions and get to the root of the problem,” he said.