It is feared she could have died if neighbourhood watch officers had not been checking out a drinking den hotspot near Ravenscraig Hospital.

Officers carried the girl to safety through mud and heavy rain for half-a-mile as darkness descended, while helping her intoxicated friend.

As details of the shocking incident emerged, Inverclyde’s top police officer today warned all parents that he was ‘extremely worried’ about the excessive drinking of young people.

Chief Inspector Elliot Brown said: “Some young people are drinking to such excess they are unable to look after themselves or each other – leaving them highly vulnerable.” Up to a hundred youngsters from across Inverclyde gather regularly in the hospital woods at Pennyfern and police concerns for their safety were shown to be justified when the two 13-year-olds were discovered in a highly intoxicated state.

Both were taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital. The teenagers were discovered by PC Hazel Dale and PC Gordon Devlin around 9.30pm.

PC Dale said: “I’ve been a police officer for 21 years, but that was the most frightening experience I’ve had dealing with young people.

“We were on routine patrol and had no warning the girl was there. Around a hundred teenagers were milling around, but none of them realised the danger she was in.

“She had scratch marks on her face from falling. She could easily have fallen behind a bush or a tree and we would never have seen her.

“We put her in the recovery position and called an ambulance, but it was so remote and inaccessible that the only way to get her to help was to carry her through the woods.

“Gordon carried the girl and I assisted her friend. We were slipping and falling in the mud.” Asked if the girl could have died, PC Dale said: “It’s a definite possibility if we hadn’t found her.

“The consequences could have been quite chilling.” Youngsters are climbing into the hospital grounds through a gap in the perimeter wall and police have arranged with the health board for it to be repaired.

Officers have been patrolling the woods along with community wardens as part of a new initiative to tackle anti-social behaviour around Inverclyde.

Ch Insp Brown said: “The number of young people gathering in the wooded area at Ravenscraig Hospital and engaging in risky behaviours is extremely worrying.

“It is of the utmost concern that my officers had to carry an extremely drunk and unconscious young female, whom they found face down in mud in dense woods, to an awaiting ambulance.

“My team are working with the wardens to carry out regular patrols in the area, and are using every possible method of intervention to warn our young people and their parents of the dangers of drinking excessively and putting themselves in harm’s way.

“They will be linking with youth services and talking to assemblies in all the local high schools in the lead-up to the summer holidays, as well as working with local licensees to encourage and enforce the responsible sale of alcohol.

“I would appeal to all parents of teenagers to make sure they talk to their children, know their whereabouts and challenge them if they are coming home drunk or smelling of smoke. Our primary aim is to keep people safe, and we will do everything we can to work with our partner agencies and local parents in order to achieve this.” Neighbourhood Watch teams have been set up for each of the six council wards.

Ravenscraig Hospital and Pennyfern come under wards four and six, where PCs Andrew Stewart and Ally Burns are the neighbourhood officers.

PC Burns said: “This large group of teenagers used to meet at Tower Hill, and now they’ve moved to the Pennyfern woods. Some of them arrive by train and walk up to the woods.” PC Stewart added: “It’s very important that parents realise the danger their sons and daughters could be in. These woods are dense and treacherous, especially in darkness and heavy rain.”