Drinking and driving this Christmas could leave a financial hangover costing nearly �400 in extra insurance premiums, according to an insurer.

Offenders can also find it very difficult to get cover once their ban has expired, with as many as half of all insurers not keen to quote for cover until five years have elapsed after the conviction.

Kerry Richardson, managing director of AA Insurance Services, said: "Quite apart from the fact that drinking and driving puts the motorist and other road users at serious risk, insurers can come down hard on drivers with a drink conviction.

"It can be even more if they have not built up a no-claims bonus."

Bitter pill

For example, a 35-year-old married man living in Basingstoke in Hampshire, with full no-claims bonus and no convictions might pay �365 to insure his 1998 Vauxhall Vectra.

However, if he lost his licence for one year because of drink driving, his premium would be �448.

However, if he did not have a no-claims bonus, he would pay just �654 before a ban and �1,015 afterwards - an increase of �364.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the first drink-driving campaign at Christmas.

Last year the number of people who died in drink-drive accidents totalled 520 - a rise on the previous year of 60 deaths.

It estimates that in 25 years of campaigning 20,000 lives have been saved and hundreds of thousands of injuries have been prevented.