Government ideas to tackle public drunkenness, including staffing police in hospitals to prevent disorder, have come under fire from the Police Federation of England and Wales.

Chairman of the Federation, Paul McKeever, said 20 per cent cuts to police budgets nationwide and a lack of officers meant the suggestion would be “nigh on impossible”.

His criticism has been echoed by ACPO who said that “a question” remained over funding such ideas.

The Government is looking to consider new measures as part of its forthcoming Alcohol Strategy and wants to tackle “the scandal” of public drunkenness.

Mr McKeever (pictured) said: “We simply do not, and will not, have the police officers or the resources to assist the Health Service with protecting properties such as hospitals.

“Over the next two years we will see 34,000 police officers and staff cut from the Service so it will be nigh on impossible to provide the level of service that the Prime Minister speaks of.”

Mr McKeever claimed the Government was tackling alcoholism in an “isolated way” and only from the perspective of the Department of Health.

He added that locking people up in so called “drunk tanks”, which are widely used across Europe and the USA, was dangerous.

The Chairman said: “People who are very drunk can be vulnerable and often require medical attention so locking them in a confined space is not an effective solution.

“Police stations are not the right places for people with alcohol problems. We should be looking closer at finding treatment for the problem rather than sticking a part-time solution over the issue.”

ACPO Lead on Alcohol and Licensing, CC Jon Stoddart, also urged caution. He said: “A significant percentage of violent crime and anti-social behaviour is alcohol-related.

“We face these problems because too many people are consuming too much alcohol. However we cannot enforce our way to a solution, it’s about how we prevent the abuse in the first place.

“Having police officers in hospitals offers a reassuring presence and does work to stop criminal behaviour, but who pays for this is a question that has to be answered, especially in times of austerity.”

CC Stoddart added that the root of the problem needed to be addressed and that a minimum price per unit of alcohol would reduce consumption.