Mother's drink-drive warning after death of son Arran Coen

The last photograph of Angela Coen and her son Arran before he died

A mother from Swansea has made an emotional plea for motorists not to drink and drive after her son died in the run up to Christmas.

Arran Coen, 25, had 102 milligrams of alcohol in his blood when his car crashed on the M4 near Swansea last November.

The legal drink-drive limit is 80.

His mother Angela Coen, who was making Christmas cards with her grandchildren when police told her he had died, said the grief was "horrendous".

"Our lives have never been the same without him," she said.

Ms Coen made the appeal as police forces launched a Wales-wide crackdown on Thursday in Merthyr Tydfil ahead of the Christmas party season.

Drivers will be breathalysed and also checked for drugs during the month-long campaign after a change to the law last spring.

More than 500 drivers failed drink driving tests during last year's clampdown, with almost 100 more drivers arrested for getting behind the wheel after taking drugs.

Arran Coen had qualified to be a personal trainer the day before the collision

Ms Coen described how she went for a meal with her son on the night of the crash and even put money in his bank account so he could get a taxi to a friend's house - but he used it for petrol to drive instead.

He had drunk two and a half pints and looked sober so must have thought he was not over the limit, she said.

"If I could go back to that night and knew that he was going to get in that car I would have physically had my partner knock him out and drag him in the house, and I would have tied him to something rather than let him go," she told BBC Wales.

"But he made me a promise he wasn't driving."

The former Gowerton School pupil and aspiring fashion designer was hit by a dumbell in the back of the head, which a coroner said may have contributed to his death.

Ms Coen wants to see the law changed so there is a zero tolerance approach to drinking any alcohol and getting behind the wheel.

"He had everything in this world to live for, he had never been so happy in his life and he died on the Saturday, all for the sake of what was the equivalent of half a lager," she added.

Ms Coen said the impact on the family was "devastating", she lost more than five stone, had two nervous breakdowns and has considered taking her own life since his death.

Assistant Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan, of South Wales Police, said forces would take a zero tolerance approach to those who break the law.

"As Christmas is all about spending time with friends and family, our campaign focuses on showing the true impact either committing or falling victim to this crime can have on the communities of Wales," he said.

"Since the improvements of roadside testing for alcohol and drugs, there is nowhere to hide for those that break the law."

Susan Storch, chairwoman of Road Safety Wales, said the majority of drivers had taken the "don't drink and drive" message to heart following last year's campaign.

During last year's campaign, South Wales Police topped the table for failed drink-drive tests, with 205 motorists out of 4,409 stopped over the legal limit - a 4.6% fail rate.

In the Gwent force area, police stopped just over 1,100 drivers, with 47 arrests - a rate of 4.2%

North Wales Police stopped the most drivers - 8,894 - but had the lowest drink-drive rate in Wales, with 82 over the limit - less than 1%.

The force also revealed it had randomly tested its own officers for drink and drugs, with all tests coming back negative.

A further 8,400 motorists were checked by Dyfed-Powys Police, with 164 fails - just under 2%.