Thousands of people are at risk of “indiscriminate” harm due to gambling, a city’s health chiefs have warned.

A Sunderland City Council meeting heard an estimated 11,000 residents were at risk, with 1,000 or more currently experiencing “the most severe harm”.

Concern was raised over the rise in online and video game gambling and the impact on young people at a meeting of the council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee.

Public health practitioner Craig Hodgson said gambling had a “particularly negative” impact on mental health and strong links to depression and suicide.

A report released ahead of the meeting and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service highlighted the impact gambling could have on relationships, health, employment and education.

Council health chiefs said a variety of work was ongoing to raise awareness and tackle gambling-related harms in the city.

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They believe the true scale of the problem could be higher than figures indicate, with estimations presented at the meeting suggesting almost 20,000 people were also affected as a result of a loved one’s gambling habits.

Mr Hodgson said: “Gambling is so easy to hide for people, for a lot of people, some people often term it as the hidden addiction.

“Gambling can impact anyone, it’s indiscriminate in that way.”

Sunderland’s Gambling Prevention Network, a program targeted at young people, and a lived experience forum are among the initiatives established around the city in an effort to tackle gambling harms.

Labour councillor Juliana Heron said: “I’m so glad it’s coming to the front because I’ve had concerns about this for a long time, and that’s because I know local people who have actually got into difficulties.

“It’s so easy to access, on televisions, on your phones, it’s all over.”