Alcohol that is "too cheap, too readily available, and too strong" is fueling the U.K.'s massive drinking problems, in the words of Cheshire chief constable Peter Fahy.

The Christian Science Monitor reported Aug. 24 that British officials say that cheap drink promotions and a trend among supermarkets toward selling alcohol below cost are contributing to crime, assaults, and antisocial behavior. Some shops have priced beer lower than water to bring in customers.

In the U.K., alcohol is now 65 percent more affordable than it was in 1980, the group Alcohol Concern says, because prices have not kept up with inflation and taxes have not been raised. The nation's Competition Commission reported that stores sold more than $226 million worth of alcohol below cost during last year's soccer World Cup alone.

Lawmaker John Grogan, who is campaigning against such promotions, says that half of all alcohol sold in the U.K. now comes from supermarkets, compared to 10 percent a generation ago. Rather than drinking only at bars, many young people are now buying cheaper alcohol at stores and drinking it before heading out on the town.

"When you are giving [beer] away at less than the price of water, it does have an impact," Grogan said.

"Young people will tend to get their drink and start their evening at home or in some public place and then turn up at pubs and bars later in the evening," said Nick Bish, executive director of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, which represents pubs and restaurants. "Our concern is that if there is disorder ... the first place the police look is the nearest pub, because the assumption is that this is where it has all happened.

"That's unfair because of all the efforts we've made," such as ending happy hours and discount drink specials, said Bish.