317 arrested in Christmas drink drive crackdown

Drink Drive breathalyser

Greater Manchester Police arrested 317 people as part of their festive drink and drug drive operation.

During the month of December, 273 drink drivers and 44 drug drivers were arrested.

Officers carried out 5,913 breath and field impairment tests and of those 5.2 per cent tested positive, compared to 4.4 per cent last year.

GMP’s traffic unit launched their month-long annual drink drive operation on 1 December 2014 and officers were out across the force targeting hotspot areas.

‘None for the Road’ was the message behind December’s campaign and police used social media, posters and community events to hammer the consequences of drink driving in the run up to Christmas.

Sergeant Matt Bailey-Smith from GMP’s Roads Policing Unit said: “It’s appalling to see so many people risking lives for the sake of a drink and I’m only thankful we caught them before they killed themselves or somebody else.

“Our Christmas operation may be over but our fight against drink and drug drivers continues and we will not rest our laurels until people stop causing misery on our roads.”

If you know somebody who drinks and drives, please call police on 101 or if you do not wish to speak to police, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.