HEAVY drinking during the first year of the Covid pandemic led to 20 deaths in Southend, new figures show.

Deaths directly caused by excess alcohol soared by a record 20 per cent across England in 2020, with thousands of people losing their lives.

The “devastating increase” is stark evidence of the pandemic’s impact on people’s drinking patterns, according to charities Drinkaware and Alcohol Change UK.

Public Health England data shows 20 people from Southend were among the 6,985 who died from alcohol-specific causes.

Councillor Carole Mulroney, representative of Leigh Ward, has said it is something the whole country needs to tackle.

“Any loss of life, injury or trauma related to alcohol is absolutely tragic and we are all aware that the pandemic has only served to heighten not only the events but out awareness of them.

“This is something that across the country we need to tackle and overcome as quickly as possible so I would urge anyone who is either suffering with or from the effects of alcohol consumption to seek help as soon as possible from the appropriate agencies.”

Despite 20 people from Southend dying of alcohol-specific causes in 2020, this is a decrease of a third from the 30 recorded in 2019.

Southend also has a lower average rate of deaths connected solely to alcohol abuse.

According to figures, 13 in every 100,000 people in England died solely because of alcohol abuse last year, whereas the rate in Southend was 11.

A spokesman for the Department for Health and Social Care said change is already underway to address the problem.

They said: “We have announced the largest ever increase in substance misuse treatment and recovery funding, with a £780 million of additional investment over the next three years.

“Work is already underway to address alcohol-related health harms, their impact on people’s life chances and to reduce associated inequalities, including establishing specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals and supporting children of alcohol dependent parents.”

Anyone struggling with an alcohol-related issue can visit the NHS website for a list of useful contacts who can provide support.