A LEADING health professional has called for sheriffs to join police patrols to witness the effects of binge-drinking.

Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said sheriffs were failing to appreciate the damage inflicted by cheap alcohol and suggested they join officers on weekend patrols of cities, including Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Dr Gillan, who advises the Scottish Government on alcohol-related harm, said: "Sheriffs would benefit from training to ensure they better understand the change in drinking patterns and the effect this is having on the nation's health and well-being.

"Spending an evening with the police to see how much of their time is taken up dealing with the fallout from the easy availability of cheap supermarket alcohol may be time well spent for them."

She recommended they also visit hospitals.

Dr Gillan, who recently gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament's health committee on Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill, said the availability of cheap alcohol had fuelled a dangerous shift in Scotland's drinking habits.

"Problems are not confined to public drunkenness and antisocial behaviour in the streets, but extend much wider and have a detrimental effect on family and community life", she added.

Her views are echoed by senior police officers, who say more binge-drinking is taking place in the home and increasingly ends in violence.

Last month, a sheriff in Edinburgh overturned a 48-hour alcohol ban imposed on Tesco by Midlothian licensing board after the store sold alcohol to someone who was underage.

The Judicial Office for Scotland declined to comment.