Hospital admissions for alcoholic liver disease have surged to a record high in Gloucestershire, figures reveal.

Health charity the British Liver Trust says an "alarming" number of people across the country are drinking too much alcohol, driven by a shift from pub to home drinking as prices become increasingly affordable.

Public Health England data shows that in Gloucestershire, 440 people were admitted to hospital with liver disease caused by excessive alcohol intake in 2018-19.

At roughly 67 admissions per 100,000 population, that's a huge jump from 18 in the previous year, and makes it the highest rate since comparable records began in 2010-11.

Alcohol is the most common cause of liver disease in England, and the number of people with the condition has risen over the last few decades, according to the NHS.

People with the disease are often unaware of it until their liver has been severely damaged, when more serious symptoms such as yellowing skin, abdominal swelling and severe weight loss can develop.

Gloucestershire’s admission rate is higher than across the whole of the South West, where there were 44 admissions per 100,000 population on average.