First UK Centre For Gaming Addict Rehab

The video games industry is one of the fastest growing entertainment sectors in the UK but there are fears that video game addiction is on the increase.

The father of a 20yr old man who died after a marathon video games session is campaigning for more awareness about the risks of excessive gaming.

David Staniforth told Sky News: "People need to be made aware. This business has ramped up so quickly.

"The industry needs to get on board and make changes before more disasters happen."

Chris Staniforth died of a blood clot in May this year after playing on his Xbox for up to 12 hours at a time.

He had developed deep vein thrombosis, which is caused by sitting in the same position for long periods.

His father added: "If you consider a lot of his friends were playing in Canada and America which is a 5 hour time difference - he could start playing at 10pm UK time and they were only just starting to come online.

"So the game extended right into 7 o'clock in morning. That's like 7,8,9 hours. It was like doing a long-haul flight every night."

Brian Dudley is Chief Executive at Broadway Lodge - the UK's first rehabilitation clinic to treat video game addiction.

"We know there is a problem because of the number of people contacting us. We've found that it's very similar to the other type of addictions in that there's social exclusion and there's a breakdown within the families.

"There are some heath issues - they don't tend to eat properly. They don't tend to look after themselves from a personal hygiene issue and they isolate as well."

The UK Association for Interactive Entertainment (UKIE) is a trade body for the industry.

Although it's a small percentage of gamers dealing with addiction UKIE chairman Andy Payne says he thinks it's important to engage with consumers and centres like Broadway Lodge in order to address the situation.

"There is an issue. The poor man who passed away... it's just tragic. That's real. I think the support centres are going to set up their business and they are going to serve a need.

"And it's for us to engage with organisations like that and to encompass them and help them as much as we can."