Taxpayers to fund NHS treatment of kids hooked on online game Fortnite after gaming addiction was classified as a medical disorder

KIDS hooked on online games such as Fortnite will be treated on the NHS.

Taxpayers will pay after gaming addiction was classified as a medical disorder — but there were calls for the makers to contribute.

It came as experts said tens of thousands of young people could be affected, and psychiatrists revealed there were no NHS services to support them.

But governments must offer help from tomorrow after World Health Organisation chiefs listed gaming addiction under the International Classification of Diseases, which entitles free healthcare.

Its Mental Health and Substance Abuse department said up to six per cent of young people may develop gaming addiction.

Evidence is mounting that habitual gaming leads to psychological distress.

Primary schools have warned that Fortnite, in which players kill each other and try to survive as they search for weapons, was damaging learning.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen called on games makers to contribute towards care.

He said: “It‘s only fair that those who profit should pay for the treatment and it not just be another burden on our hard-pressed NHS.”

Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said existing NHS addiction units should offer help as no services exist for gaming addiction.

She said: “These are young new cases whose compulsive behaviour is impacting negatively on their home, family and usually their schoolwork.”