Alcohol abuse prevents thousands of Scots from working and the west of Scotland has the highest rate of drink-related benefit claimants in the UK, according to new figures.

Inverclyde, which includes Greenock and Port Glasgow, has the highest percentage of alcohol related incapacity benefit claimants, followed in second place by Glasgow.

In Scotland's largest city more than 2000 men and women are registered unable to work because of a drink problem. West Dunbartonshire, which includes Clydebank and Dumbarton, is the seventh highest in a list of claimants by local authority.

The problem is significant in all of Scotland's major cities, with Dundee, Edinburgh and Aberdeen also appearing in the UK top ten, which features a total of seven Scottish locations.

Across the UK almost 50,000 men and women have an alcohol abuse problem so serious they are registered unfit to work and qualify for benefits as a result.

In Inverclyde 0.63% of the working population are claiming the benefit due to alcoholism. In Glasgow the figure is 0.59%. Glasgow has 57,000 people claiming incapacity benefit, the alcohol statistics mean 4% of those are down to problem drinking.

The figures revealed by the Department of Work and Pensions under Freedom of Information show the local authorities with the highest proportion of claimants include many areas with high levels of deprivation.

Manchester, Blackpool, Salford in the north-west of England and Hastings, a seaside town in East Sussex, make up the list of the ten most affected areas.

East Dorset has only 0.02% of people of working age unable to work for alcohol related reasons.

The figures display a similar pattern to latest figures for life expectancy. Glasgow has the lowest at 69 for men, with Inverclyde second lowest and West Dunbartonshire also in the bottom ten. The area with the longest life expectancy in the UK is East Dorset at 80.

Alcohol campaigners said the DWP figures are not surprising but are proof that efforts to tackle drink and the social problems it causes requires early intervention.

Jack Law, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said: "Alcohol-related diseases are increasing at such an alarming rate in Scotland it's not surprising that the number of people receiving incapacity benefits because of alcohol problems is so high.

"People who misuse alcohol are more likely to have sickness absences and accidents at work. Those with a history of alcohol misuse are likely to change jobs more often and are more likely to be unemployed.

"We need to identify and treat problem drinking behaviour as early as possible, before it affects people's health and lifestyle beyond repair."

Across the UK, a total of 49,970 claim incapacity benefit because of drink problems.

A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said: "Alcohol-related damage goes well beyond the broken high street shop windows we tend to think of.

"It's a major cause of chronic illness and work-related illness. The government has estimated conservatively that misuse costs the economy about £20billion each year through lost productivity."

South Northamptonshire has no people claiming benefit as a result of alcohol abuse and East Derbyshire is also among the lowest with only 1 in 5000 or 0.02%.