HEALTH bosses have hired rappers in a bid to tackle binge drinking in Manchester.

Latest figures show the region's young people drink an average of 12 units - three times the safe limit - on a night out clubbing.

The north west has one of the worst drinking problems in the country, with 29 per cent of people regularly consuming unsafe quantities of alcohol.

And 14 per cent of men in the region drink more than 50 units of alcohol a week - a figure which is twice the national average.

Last year, 82,000 people were treated for alcohol-related injuries at the city's three accident and emergency departments.

They mainly suffered falls, assaults, liver problems and alcohol dependence.

Spending

Now health bosses are spending é11,000 on Eminem-style raps to try to get the heaviest drinkers, the 18 to 24-year-olds, to think twice about their alcohol consumption.

Liz Burns, from Manchester Public Health Development Service, said: "Research shows that on an average night, clubbing young people are drinking 12 units of alcohol.

"This is considered normal, but it is three times the safe limit - and we need to change that.

"People in their 20s aren't listening to the messages about their liver, but we hope they will think about how they will be able to get home safely after drinking so much, and what it would be like to wake up in trouble or in an emergency department.

"The statistics show that you can't separate binge drinking and anti-social behaviour. People need to start thinking about who else might be affected by their drinking."

The new adverts have been recorded by young rap artists working for GMAZZ, a music charity.

The three adverts, which will run on Galaxy radio from next week, deliver tough messages on safe drinking limits and anti-social behaviour in the style of Eminem's Guilty Conscience.

Stars

Starring in the ads will be rappers Omen-Ra, 24, from Moss Side, and Mad Rush, 32, from Manchester city centre.

A wider campaign called 100-day Challenge Manchester will also point out the cost of excess drinking, with many people taking time off work with hangovers, the cost of health treatment and the cost of police having to deal with drunks.

Police say it costs an average of é59 more to process someone who is drunk rather than sober.

A study in June 2004 found nearly two-thirds of young inmates had drink problems before they were imprisoned.