Northumbria Police arrest 36 in first week of drink-drive campaign

Northumbria Police has joined a national crackdown on drink and drug-driving

A police force arrested 36 people in the first week of its annual Christmas drink and drug-driving campaign.

Northumbria Police said one of those arrested was more than four times the drink-drive limit.

Ten of those arrested were detained after being involved in crashes, a force spokesman said.

Eighteen people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving and the other 18 on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

'Christmas behind bars'

The spokesman said one man arrested after a two-vehicle crash was found to have 156mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

The force said he has been banned from driving as he awaits a court date.

The spokesman said: "If you drive under the influence you not only put yourself at risk, but also innocent people going about their daily lives - it could cost someone their life.

"No-one wants to spend Christmas behind bars and no-one wants to receive awful news that a family member has been killed at the hands of a drunk or high driver."