One in five girls try drugs

One in five teenage girls has tried drugs and almost a third of 14-year-olds drink alcohol at least once a week, a study shows today.

A Bliss magazine poll of 2,000 girls found that more than a third came from broken homes and only 32 per cent felt "greatly loved" by their parents. Almost 70 per cent had been bullied. Some 59 per cent suffered selfdoubt and 90 per cent had felt depressed.

The Priory group last week warned of an epidemic of teenage mental illness.