A MINIMUM pricing policy ending shops selling discount bargain booze could be brought in across Merseyside.

The move came as a new study shows more than 30,500 crimes were reported to police in Wirral over the course of last year.

That means around one-in-ten Wirral people are a crime victim - in Birkenhead that figure is a shocking one-in-six.

Birkenhead remains an anti-social behaviour hot-spot, accounting for more than 45% of the total number of reported incidents.

The leader of Wirral Council and chairman of Merseyside Combined Regional Authority says super-strength, low-cost booze is behind many of the problems.

Last year, the Government backtracked on passing legislation to prevent stores offering massive discounts on off-licence sales.

But now a county-wide bylaw could be introduced setting a minimum price for alcohol in a bid to stop drunken yobs "running amok."

Wirral Council leader Cllr Phil Davies, whose Birkenhead and Tranmere ward is in the centre of the hot-spot area, said he believes cut-price alcohol is a major contributory factor to violent behaviour on the streets.

"There are basically too many outlets where alcohol is available," he said.

"And a lot of shops are now trying to amend their licenses to sell super-strength lager and cider.

"There is no doubt whatsoever that if we can reduce the amount of alcohol young people are drinking, we will go a long way towards solving the problem.

"That's why the Merseyside Combined Regional Authority will be investigating as a matter of the urgency the idea of bringing in a minimum pricing by-law to take effect across the county."

A review, authored by consultant Tony Kinsella for Birkenhead Constituency Committee, reveals a massive £993,000 has been invested over the last 12 months in tackling consequences of disorder in Wirral –£436,000 being spent in Birkenhead.

And while anti-social behaviour is declining in three of the peninsula’s four parliamentary constituencies, the report raises concerns that it is falling at a far slower rate in the town.

Using the data, an action plan is being drawn up to renew efforts at curbing the yobs.

Councillor Davies said the document demonstrates anti-social behaviour continues to ruin people's lives - and tackling it is now his number one priority: "This is why we have built £365,000 of growth in the council's budget this year.

"That will buy us two additional anti-social behaviour officers and extra CCTV coverage.

"The report has given us the evidence we needed to begin reconfiguring our resources.

"Parts of the borough clearly have a really big problem and it makes no sense to spend the same amount in areas where it is not such a major issue."

He said addressing to the root cause of the problems will play a significant role in any future strategy: "The causes are obviously many and varied; it is a very big agenda.

"But the reasons go hand-in-hand with deprivation. That's why we want to redouble our efforts at providing help and education for families who are basically dysfunctional.

"We'll be developing a twin-track approach using a broad range of measure.

"We will come down hard on those who are running amok and showing no social responsibility.

"But there will also be support for those who need it - those in poor housing, those families in which no-one is in work and where long-term unemployment is creating its own problems, single parents who need help in bringing up very young children."

The report is to be discussed this week by a meeting of the council-funded constituency committee.

The group also will be given a presentation by Merseyside’s police and crime commissioner Jane Kennedy.

Last October Birkenhead MP Frank Field said parts of his constituency had become the "Beirut of the north" and he declared war on a yob culture he believed is destroying the town.

The veteran campaigner said it was time the authorities "favoured decent people instead of thugs".

“This is my top priority and will continue to be so until we are on top of this,” said Mr Field, who is working closely with Cllr Davies to urge police and other agencies responsible for tackling anti-social behaviour to “up their game significantly”

“We want to return Birkenhead to what it was and reverse it from becoming Beirut - because that’s what we have got in places,” said the MP.