‘School’s hard with a hangover’
Tuesday 29 January 2008
Wild child Katty Husher is just 14 years old yet drinks twice the recommended weekly alcohol allowance in a single evening.
Standing in her school uniform with her long hair tied in pigtails, heavy eye make-up masking her baby-faced features, 14-year-old Katty Husher is an unnerving mix of innocent child and rebellious teen.
But if you saw Katty on a night out, you’d be in no doubt that she’s the latter. On her worst benders, the schoolgirl’s been known to drink half a bottle of vodka plus several cans of lager and cider.
“I may be young, but I act older,” claims Katty, from Croydon. “My parents try to stop my wild behaviour but I just don’t give a s***. It’s my life and I’m going to live it the way I want – no one’s going to stop me.”
Katty has often downed double the weekly recommended alcohol allowance for women – 14 small glasses of wine – during just one night out. More worryingly still is the fact Katty’s even boozed on a school night.
“I’ve sat there in school with a really bad headache, just staring at the clock, waiting for the day to end,” she confesses. “School is so much more effort when you’re hungover – it’s pretty awful. I don’t feel I’m doing as well at school as I used to, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with my drinking.”
Too much too young
Katty, who admits to suffering memory loss after boozing, started drinking when she was 13. Older pals would buy her alcohol, and during the school holidays last summer they’d drink at friends’ houses every day.
“One of us always ended up with our head down the toilet for hours,” she laughs.
Katty, who lost her virginity at just 13, also admits to having sex when she’s drunk. She’s reluctant to reveal how many people she’s slept with.
“People don’t expect people of my age to be having sex, but I don’t have any friends who are still virgins,” she says. “I’ve had two boyfriends, and there have been a couple of random people too. In my group of friends, everybody has a bit of everyone.”
But Katty, who allowed MTV to film her drunken binges for a documentary, insists she always uses condoms. “My parents have taught me about contraception, and I’ve also read magazine articles about it,” she says. “I don’t want to get pregnant, I couldn’t cope with a baby.”
Yet the teen shrugs off concerns about what booze could be doing to her liver. “I’m still young, so I’m not worried,” she says, before naively adding: “As long
as I eat healthily, that makes up for it.”
Trouble at home
Unsurprisingly, Katty’s lifestyle has caused friction with her mum Jane, 44, an office worker. In the documentary, Katty is seen ranting when her mum refuses to allow her out, and even calls her a “bitch” behind her back. She also boasts: “I had a fight with Mum in the street – I was shouting and swearing at her.”
Katty partly blames her parents’ break-up 18 months ago for her bad behaviour. Her dad Matthew, 40, who’s a security worker, moved out, leaving Katty at home with her mum and two younger sisters.
“I was drinking to forget, it took my mind off the whole thing,” she says. “I was really angry with my dad – when he moved out, it felt like he’d abandoned me.
“All my family memories are in our house, so going out all the time helped take it all away,” she adds. “And without my dad around to discipline me, I could get away with going out.”
Katty claims that her mum’s attempts to control her haven’t been too successful. Jane’s tried cutting her monthly allowance of £50, and has grounded her, but to no avail. “I just climb out of the window,” claims Katty. “I always find a way round it. I don’t think Mum’s happy that I drink, but she realises I’ll do it anyway.”
Jane says: “I believe Katty has more freedom than some teenagers, but in no way is she in the minority. It’s likely that she exaggerates the amount she drinks – I often pick her up when she’s been out, and I know that usually she hasn’t been drinking. I don’t agree with her drinking alcohol at her age.”
Closer is launching a campaign today to halt the growing trend of underage boozing in the UK. Click here to read all about and to have your say!
WORDS: Victoria Raymond
The Bedroom Diaries is on MTV One, daily from 4 February, at 9pm.
You can watch Katty’s diary on 6 February.