Brewery to help police tackle drink-driving

Gemma Hand said she had had to intervene in past jobs to stop drinkers from getting in their cars

A brewery and a water company are joining forces with West Mercia Police in a bid to reduce drink-driving over the Christmas period.

Titanic Breweries and Wenlock Spring Water launched the campaign at Bod Cafe and Bar in Newport - and they are hoping the public will take notice.

The campaign, called The Only One For The Road, is encouraging people to avoid alcohol altogether before driving, and choosing a soft drink instead.

Police say there is often a spike in drink-driving at this time, due to people heading to pubs and bars to celebrate.

Gemma Hand is the manager of Bod bar, run by Stoke-on-Trent-based Titanic Brewery.

"As a brewery we feel it's our responsibility to make sure, as somebody who serves alcohol, that everybody's safe," she said.

Christmas time sees "a lot more footfall" to hospitality venues like Bod, she added, with more people "who don't drink as much throughout the year, so their tolerance isn't as good".

Ms Hand said while working for a previous employer she had had to intervene.

"I've worked in the pub trade for a long time and I have had the experience of having to stop that person from [drink-driving] and making them aware that they have had too much to drink, and removing their [car] keys," she said.

Stephen Tuck from Wenlock Spring said he had lost friends to drink-drivers

The campaign is led by Wenlock Spring, a Shropshire-based bottled water company.

Stephen Tuck said the brand was hoping the campaign would make a positive change - and noted there was often pressure on people to drink alcohol at Christmas.

"There's an enormous amount of pressure that isn't necessary, and now there's lots of [non-alcoholic] alternatives," he said.

"[Drink-driving] can devastate a community - from a personal perspective I've lost friends to drink-drivers over the years, I'm sure everybody knows somebody who has, so it's an important campaign for us personally as well."

Insp Colin Robinson said drink-driving often increased over Christmas

Insp Colin Robinson described drink-driving as "a really selfish act," and highlighted that in the past three years, it had caused 36 deaths in the West Mercia force area.

"Last year during the drink-drive campaign, for the month of December alone in the three counties [Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire] we arrested 266 people [for drink-driving]," he added.

The force is carrying out Operation Limit to tackle the issue, and has welcomed the support of Wenlock Spring and Titanic Brewery.

Digital vans with large signs urging people to avoid drinking and driving will be touring the area, focusing on hospitality hotspots like pubs and bars.

"It's really simple: don't drink and drive. Have a plan, book the taxi in advance, get yourself a designated driver - and you don't have to have alcoholic drinks if you are going out," Insp Robinson said.

"Just be sensible, be safe - and don't be selfish."