Police 'frustrated' by drug and drink driving arrests

The number of people arrested for drug and drink driving in a north-west England county over the Christmas period has been described by police as "frustrating".

Figures show 508 people were arrested in Merseyside as part of an annual campaign targeting drug and drink drivers.

The campaign is aimed at reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on the region's roads.

Roads Policing Ch Insp Stuart McIver said people "still aren't getting the message".

Between 1 December and 1 January, 360 people were arrested for drug drive related offences, 110 arrested for alcohol related offences and 38 arrested for failure to comply.

"Driving under the influence – whether that's drugs or alcohol – is absolutely not acceptable," Ch Insp McIver said.

"I feel frustrated that, clearly, some people still aren't getting the message."

Operation Limit is a national campaign which runs each year from 1 December to January.

Last year, a total of 469 drug-drivers and 191 drink-drivers were arrested in Merseyside over a period from the end of November to 1 January.

Merseyside's Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell said the latest figures showed "too many people are still risking the lives of other innocent road users as well as their own".

"It is illegal and totally unacceptable to drive under the influence," she said.

"It destroys lives and the devastation for victims' families lasts a lifetime."

Ch Insp McIver said while this operation was limited to the festive period, Merseyside Police test drivers throughout the year.

"Nowhere, at any time of the year, is safe to drug or drink drive in Merseyside," he said.

"We are always watching and always testing."

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