Hospital reports rise in festive injuries

More than 40 people were treated at Altnagelvin Hospital

More than 40 people received hospital treatment after they were assaulted in separate incidents in Londonderry on New Year's Eve.

Doctors at Altnagelvin Hospital's casualty department said the figure was well above the number of cases from previous New Year's Eves.

The city's deputy mayor Mary Hamilton said a culture of heavy drinking among young people was a major factor.

"The problem is a lot of young people now who will go to off licences and get drink and they will have a lot of drink taken before they even go out to nightclubs," she said.

"They are drinking it all too fast.

"Where years ago you had to go into a bar to buy a drink now they can get it so handy.

"They are drunk before they go out and then they are going about in gangs."