A shocking series of anti-binge drinking ads launched today by the Government shows young people deliberately injuring themselves and smearing vomit in their hair.

The £4 million Home Office campaign is designed to show the consequences of drinking too much and is based around the catchline: “You wouldn’t start a night like this, so why end it that way?”

One ad - to be shown during youth programmes on national TV - depicts a young man getting ready for a night out who rips out his ear-ring, smashes a wardrobe door in his face, urinates on his shoes and pours a takeaway meal down his shirt. Another shows an attractive young woman arranging vomit in her hair, smudging make-up down her face and ripping her clothes.

The campaign aimed at 18-to 24-year-olds also features online adverts depicting the aftermath of a drunken binge, such as a woman getting into a car with a stranger and a man smashing up a kebab shop.

The TV ads will also be replicated using mannequins and props in a series of shop window displays in London’s Covent Garden, which may then move to other towns and cities.

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said: “I am not prepared to tolerate alcohol-fuelled crime and disorder on our streets and this new campaign will challenge people to think twice about the serious consequences of losing control.

“Binge drinking is not only damaging to health but it makes individuals vulnerable to harm. People who are drunk are much more likely to be involved in an accident or assault, be charged with a criminal offence, contract a sexually transmitted disease or have an unplanned pregnancy."

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