BRITISH girls have overtaken boys as the some of the worst binge drinkers in Europe.

A World Health Organisation study put teenage girls in England, Scotland and Wales in three of the top six places across the continent.

The Telegraph reports young girls in the UK are more likely than teen boys to get drunk at least twice, with experts claiming it may be caused by anxiety.

The research, carried out by St Andrew University for the World Health Organisation, compared the drinking habits of 15-year-olds around Europe between 2002 and 2014.

In most nations – including the UK – the proportion of teens drunk on at least two occasions had fallen.

Teens in Denmark were the most likely to have been drunk at least twice followed by Welsh girls the youngsters from Hungary, Scotland, Lithuania and England.

In those six nations, around a third of the girls had been drunk repeatedly - about twice the rate in Italy and France.

Dr Jo Inchley, the assistant director of child and adolescent health research at St Andrews, said: “In some ways it is surprising, as girls tend to respond more to health messages than boys.

“We do know mental health is a big concern among girls, and coping could be one of the reasons why girls binge drink.”