Liver failure at just 14

Two years later she was rushed to hospital after drinking a staggering 16 bottles of wine, cider and spirits during a three-day bender. Shocked doctors diagnosed liver failure - usually found in middle-aged alcoholics - and warned her to stop drinking.

But she carried on and has now gone into rehab at the age of 18 - where doctors have warned her she will die if she drinks again. Natasha now suffers from permanent memory loss problems and has spoken out to warn other teenagers of the danger of casual alcohol abuse.

"I didn't think my drinking was a problem because all my friends were getting wasted every weekend as well," she said.

"I suppose I thought I looked grown-up and would drink as much as possible - sometimes even passing out.

"But now I have no short term memory and doctors warn me that if I drink any more I will die.

Natasha had her first tipple when she was just 12 - drinking a whole bottle of strong cider.

This ignited her "love" for binge drinking and it soon became a habitual weekend trait. But she soon turned into an "alcoholic drop-out" as she started drinking up to four times a week. She stopped attending school at 14 and is now unemployed.

"I never questioned what I was doing and my mum didn't know because I would pretend I was staying at a friend's house," she said.

"I would save my dinner money from the week and spend it on booze. All I would talk about with my friends was getting drunk at the weekend.

A report last year from charity Alcohol Concern found young female drinkers aged 11 to 13 consume an average of eight units a week, equivalent to four large glasses of wine - more than a bottle.