ALCOHOL REPORT: Findings surprise coroner (From Oxford Mail)

ALCOHOL REPORT: Findings surprise coroner

9:00am Friday 3rd September 2010 in

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County coroner Nicholas Gardiner said he was surprised by the number of people who are reported to have died directly as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.

Mr Gardiner investigates causes of deaths if they are reported to him as sudden or unknown.

He said: “I wouldn’t say things are any worse or better in Oxfordshire than they are elsewhere in the country.

“But sometimes people who have died after years of alcohol abuse are actually classed as dying of natural causes, so I wouldn’t necessarily see them.

“But it does surprise me that it’s reportedly so high.”

Thames Valley Police runs Operation Nightsafe in conjunction with Oxford City Council to tackle drunk and disorderly behaviour at night in the city centre.

City centre Sergeant James Blackmore said he considered Oxford’s streets to be relatively safe. He said: “We don’t recognise these figures as an accurate representation of what’s going on in Oxford.

“We do have a high density of bars, pubs and clubs in the city.

“While it would be naive to say we don’t have a problem at all, we’ve done a lot of work recently in conjunction with the city council to tackle drink-related antisocial behaviour and crime.

“And this year we’ve seen a significant drop in violent crime.”