66 drink drive arrests by county police

A POLICE drink drug drive campaign across the county has led to 66 arrests.

The Summer Drink Drug drive campaign by Leicestershire Police achieved 16 arrests for drug driving by the end of its fourth week, five more than last year.

Younger drivers are regularly getting caught out with 19 of those arrested aged 24 or under,

The arrests were evenly divided between city and county with 30 detained in Leicester, 15 in Charnwood and 6 in North West Leicestershire.

The highest breath test reading has been 142, over four times the drink drive limit.

A third of the arrests have been between 6am and 6pm while 14 were made following a road traffic collision.

Jonathan Clarkson, spokesperson for the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Road Safety Partnership, said: “We are aware that there may be a greater temptation to drink drive in the Summer months, particularly during the current World Cup tournament.

“We have decided to extend our campaign for a further two weeks until the end of the tournament on Sunday 15th July.

“We want people to enjoy the football, and the current warmer weather, however, make sure you don’t get caught out, particularly the morning after.”

“I would also like to take the opportunity to remind road users that a drink drug drive conviction may mean that you may not be able to travel to certain countries such as the US and Australia.”