The service has seen around 600 people since April but is struggling to cope with just seven full-time members of staff. Levels of drinking in Lancashire are the highest in the country and the North West is one of only a handful of regions where alcoholism is on the increase.

The situation has prompted MPs to call for action and a national alcohol charity said the level of staffing for an area as important as East Lancashire was "shocking."

Local health bosses said

they recognised the importance of alcohol treatment and were hoping the Government would make more money available.

Christine Nicholls, administrator at the Alcohol and Drug Service in Burnley said: "We are literally watching people die in front of us. People come to us in urgent need of help but because our resources are so stretched it is weeks before we can see them and then they have to wait weeks before they can receive treatment. It is heart-breaking and in some cases it is too late.

"We are having to watch whole families go through hell and carers are going out of their heads with frustration, simply because there is not enough money.

"We have seen people in their 20s dying from alcohol and the sad thing is we know we could have helped them."

John Payne, a nurse specialist with the Blackburn and District Community Alcohol Service, is one of only three full time and one part time workers covering Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley. He said: "This is a major problem as there is no money available.

"The national budget for drug education recently went up by £140million, we don't even receive a fraction of that increase in total."

John Royle, area director for alcohol services in Lancashire, said: "Alcohol services have long been called the Cinderella services because we are so poorly funded by the government and local health authorities.

"Currently there is only enough funding for four workers at Burnley, and three at Blackburn, which when you think of the massive area that they cover is not enough. We have to rely on dedicated volunteers to try to meet demand.

"People need to realise that alcohol devastates families, can lead to divorce, domestic violence and can affect the whole community."

Richard Phillips, acting chief executive for national charity, Alcohol Concern, said: "The amount of staff covering such a big area is shocking.

"The government and health authorities seem to be taking money out of vital care and putting it into educating the young about the dangers of alcohol, but there is no evidence that has an impact."

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope said: "I wasn't aware that there was this problem but now it has been drawn to my attention, by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, I shall look into it."

Peter Pike, Burnley MP, added: "I am seeking to find out where we can get extra money and tackling ministers on this issue."

Health bosses at Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale Primary Care Trusts said that alcohol services were a complex area of health care, involving patient education and social issues as well as treatment.

They said they hoped that partnerships working between the PCTs and councils would develop a more comprehensive service.

A spokesman for Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale PCT said: "The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy For England has recently been introduced by the Government and although there are no earmarked national monies to fund the recommendations of the strategy, we understand that there will be funding for various pilot projects.