An East Lancs MP has called for more help for the families of alcoholics after witnessing the slow decline of her mother.

Hyndburn's Sara Britcliffe was just nine when her mum Gabrielle Kroger died in 2004.

But she has recalled the impact the binges by her mum, known as 'Gabby', had on her growing up.

One left her stranded at Manchester Airport aged just five, after her mother was arrested for being drunk and disorderly on a plane.

And another resulted in Lancashire firefighters have to come to her rescue when Sara was left home alone at four.

In an interview with Gloria De Piero on GB News, the 28-year-old said: "My mum was an alcoholic. She was the best woman you could ever meet, and she loved me so much. Everybody knew it, and anybody who knew my mum knew how attached she was to me.

“She wouldn't leave my side and that was one of the problems, because it was mum and daughter. My brothers have a different mum to me and she struggled throughout my life. But she was very good at hiding it from my dad.”

But after Gabby tucked Sara up in bed at night, she would binge on bottles of vodka, while her family, including Sara's father Peter, then Hyndburn Council leader, initially remained in the dark.

Sara added: "I think it was when my grandma was still alive, mum had fallen down the stairs or something like that and that's when my grandma realised, she was potentially an alcoholic.”

She recounted how when her dad was away, leaving Sara in her mother's care, she locked the youngster in the house while she went for a drink.

Sara said: "I was probably four or five years old at that point. So that's when people realised that there was a problem, a huge problem. I absolutely despised my dad throughout this.

"And it wasn't his fault, but it felt like he was taking me away from my mum because social services got involved and said if ‘Gabby doesn't move out of the family home, we're taking Sara into care’.

“Honestly, I remember everything about my mum, and she just loved me. And anybody that you met would tell you she adored me. And that was one of the problems because everybody would always say to me, as a young girl...the only way she would stop drinking is because of me. And that pressure that existed as a little girl, because you felt the only way that your mum would survive was for you to do something about it, that you could fix it.”

“But it wasn't the case and that's why I think a lot of support is needed for families of alcoholics.

Another time, as a young girl, Sara said: "I remember one time it was all over the papers because my dad at the time was the leader of the council and mum left me in Manchester Airport.

“She'd had a drink in the airport, and we were going to Germany to see my family. And she got on the plane and was arrested on the plane for being drunk and disorderly. I remember being sat in the police station in Manchester Airport waiting for my dad to pick me up.

Outlining change she would like to see, the MP said: "It is support around a person coming out of rehab. Because what happened was my mum is, she'd be cared for 24/7. But then she’d go home and once I'd left the house, who's there? Who's there to give her the support she needs and the advice? So, what she did, instantly, was to go and get a bottle of vodka."

She also called for greater awareness of the impact of alcoholism, and the stigma it generates.

Sara added: "I still struggle. It's nearly 20 years now since I lost my mum. And the worst bit for me is I'm starting to forget her voice.

"But actually, mentally, I'm in a really good position. But that's because I sought support. I also think being thrown in at the deep end with this job kind of makes you too busy to even think about anything."

* Gabrielle Kroger died after a fire at her home in Oswaldtwistle in November 2004. An inquest heard it was likely the 50-year-old, affected by alcohol, had choked during a meal.