Britain's biggest high street retailers are helping to turn a generation of children into drunken, disease-riddled yobs, senior police officers have claimed.

Huge numbers of supermarkets, pubs and off-licences across Sussex are now complicit in creating a culture of young alcoholics which is helping to drive up serious antisocial crime and now costs the NHS more than £3 billion a year.

Some of the county's most senior police officers have lashed out at the "disgraceful" conduct of the retailers, including Tesco, Thresher and Somerfield, which have persistently served alcohol to under-18s in a series of undercover sting operations.

The Argus can today reveal that more than a third of all retailers tested in the operations illegally sold booze to minors.

In West Sussex alone 21 shops have sold alcohol to children on more than 65 different occasions. The Argus understands the figures are similar in East Sussex.

The worst offender is supermarket giant Tesco which in West Sussex has sold alcohol to children on numerous occasions at six of its shops.

Speaking after the most recent police operation in which five of seven retailers tested sold alcohol to minors, Chief Inspector Jim Read, Crawley district police commander said: "This is a disgraceful result which is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

"My officers and I will bring the full force of the law against any retailer who does not take seriously their duty to protect our children from harm.

"It is unacceptable that a small minority of irresponsible retailers seem to be placing profits above the safety of the community, therefore operations of this type will continue to be regularly conducted."

Legal action has already been taken against some of the shops concerned, including them being completely banned from selling alcohol.

However experts have claimed there needs to be a sea change in the prevalent attitude of British retailers which has helped alcohol consumption among 11 to 15-year-olds to double since 1999.

Jean Irving, Violent Crime Reduction Manager for West Sussex, said: "Nationally 13 under 18-year-olds are hospitalised as a result of alcohol abuse every day.

"Alcohol kills more people per year than cervical cancer, breast cancer and MRSA combined. How many more statistics like this have to be highlighted before retailers become more responsible?"

A spokesman from national agency Alcohol Concern said: "We must have a serious change among major British retailers if we are to reverse this trend."

Police officers admit sales are driving up serious crime, antisocial behaviour and serious alcohol-related illness among young people.

Alcohol-related illness now costs the health service at least £3.3 billion annually.

A Tesco spokesman said: "We take the sale of alcohol to underage people extremely seriously and continue to dedicate substantial resources to improving our Think 21 procedures and supporting our staff in tackling underage sales."

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