Eleven arrests for Christmas Day drink-driving

Devon and Cornwall Police arrested 11 people for drink-driving on Christmas Day, with one man also testing positive for cocaine.

Officers arrested nearly 300 people in December on suspicion of drink or drug driving offences as part of Operation Limit - a national campaign to crack down on drivers under the influence.

The force said 79% of people arrested for drink-driving were men between 17 and 45.

Temporary Ch Insp Dean Drury, head of roads policing for the force, said he hoped the "high visibility" of the campaign had "made people think twice" about driving under the influence, but the figures were "still quite high".

Despite a 20% drop since last year, 284 people were arrested in December for drink and drug driving offences, with seven men and four women arrested on Christmas Day.

Temporary Ch Insp Drury said the figures were "shocking", adding: "It's unbelievable to think people would consider doing it on [Christmas Day].

"[It] should be a day for celebrating the festivities and spending time with friends and family.

"You know when Christmas Day is - how have you not made plans?"

He said police would "still be out there" on Christmas Day and would "not bat an eyelid - if someone's drink-driving they will still arrest them".

Temporary Ch Insp Drury said it was too early to tell whether new AI cameras to spot drink and drug drivers had reduced the number of people drink and drug driving, but "maybe some people had had a mindset switch".

"It's very early days - AI is something we're looking to embrace," he added.

James Vaughn, Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, said the increase in road deaths over recent years was a "tragic situation", adding: "Almost everybody I know has had their lives touched by a road death or a serious collision, so this is really, really important."

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