Lincolnshire Police warn on bad driving as tourists flock to county

Lincolnshire Police expects a massive influx of tourist traffic

Police are patrolling key holiday routes in Lincolnshire this summer to try and reduce the number of crashes.

The operation comes at a time when traffic-related injuries and deaths on the county's roads increase.

Insp Jason Baxter said the police made "no apology" for stopping drivers who put lives at risk.

"The reality is that some of these people will not make their destination. Some of these people may never return home," he said.

The officer said the force expected to see millions of visitors heading to Lincoln and coastal resorts by road over the coming months.

Eight people were killed and 123 people were seriously injured on the roads of Lincolnshire in June, July and August last year, compared with 163 people killed or seriously injured in the same period in 2021.

The numbers of road deaths and injuries traditionally peak in July and August, Lincolnshire Police said.

A day of action in the Sleaford area on Thursday resulted in six roadside drug tests, one arrest on suspicion of drug driving, eight breath tests and three vehicles seized.

The numbers of road deaths and injuries tend to rise during the summer

Acting Sgt Steve Denniss told BBC Look North that drug driving was on the rise in the county.

He said: "Drink-driving now is not socially acceptable on the whole and everybody kind of knows that, but drug driving is still quite new.

"Using cannabis as an example; it stays in your system for some time.

"Other drugs do vary with how long they stay in your system, but ultimately, if you're using drugs, you have to be careful about when you drive."