Lancashire Christmas drink and drug-driving campaign sees 343 held
- Published
The force said officers also issued 963 traffic offence reports for minor offences
Hundreds of motorists were arrested for driving after drinking or taking drugs in the last six weeks of 2022 across Lancashire, police have said.
Lancashire Police stopped more than 3,000 drivers at checkpoints between 21 November and the New Year, and found 343 unfit to be behind the wheel.
They included a man almost five times over the limit and a mother arrested after leaving her children home alone.
Officers also issued more than 400 court summonses for other offences.
A force representative said the Christmas clampdown had seen checkpoints and targeted stops set up until 1 January.
'Shocking'
They said of the 343 arrested motorists, 124 were found to be over the alcohol limit, 105 were under the influence of drugs, 21 refused to give a sample and 89 had taken both alcohol and drugs or were considered by officers to be unfit to drive.
They highlighted a number of cases where drivers were influenced by drugs or over the limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, external, which included:
A Range Rover driver who "blew 170" and had "the very dubious accolade of giving the highest reading throughout the campaign"
A woman who stopped after one of her tyres blew out before officers found her to be over the limit and arrested her on suspicion of child neglect for leaving her children at home alone
A BMW driver who "blew 88" at 00:11 GMT on Christmas Day
A driver who abandoned his van and ran off but was detained and tested positive for cocaine
The force added officers also issued 963 traffic offence reports for minor offences and summonsed 406 people to court for offences such as driving without insurance and using a mobile phone while driving.
Insp Rob Conolly-Perch said the figures were "shocking".
"We refuse to be complacent when it comes to rooting out those who choose to drive while under the influence," he said.
"Just because the Christmas period is at an end doesn't mean we will be stepping back on this kind of activity.
"If you choose to drink or drug-drive, we will catch up with you."
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