New figures for people caught drinking and driving in December have been released by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The figures, issued on Wednesday, show a total of 218 drink drivers have been detected in the province so far in the anti-drink driving campaign.

Police insisted there was no hiding place for drink-drivers after figures for those stopped and found to be over the legal limit dropped by just two on the same period last year.

Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland, head of operations, said: "Police are determined that there will be no hiding place for those who drink and drive."

Drink driving is responsible for a quarter of all road deaths in NI

He said the numbers reflected the tough action by officers.

"Although, so far, the figure for drink detections is very slightly down on the same period last year, it is still disappointing that so many continue to ignore all the advice and warnings," he said.

A quarter of all road deaths in the province are drink-related, and hundreds of people are injured every year as a result of drink driving.

NIO minister Angela Smith stressed there was no excuse for people driving under the influence of alcohol

"It is irresponsible and demonstrates a blatant disregard for the wellbeing and safety of others," she said.

Of the 218 detections, 81 drivers were more than twice over the limit and 13 were over three times the limit.

The ages of those caught ranged from 16 to 66.

Man convicted

The police warning came as a drunk driver was sentenced to three years in jail for killing a young nursery school supervisor in a road accident last year.

Rodney Hutchinson, 34, was three times over the limit when the car he was driving ploughed into 22-year-old Gill Bradley's car outside Castlerock in County Londonderry.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while drunk and to driving with no insurance.

Earlier the court was told Miss Bradley had been driving home along the Mussenden Road when Hutchinson tried to go around a left hand bend but instead veered across the lane and struck her car, forcing it backwards and into the hedgeway.

Hutchinson, who suffered minor injuries in the near head-on crash, was in a state of "severe alcohol intoxication" according to one doctor and a blood sample revealed he had around 300ml of alcohol in 100ml of blood, more than three times the legal 80mg legal drink drive limit.

Despite this, during police interviews he claimed he had only had a "couple of pints" after work that day.

As well as being jailed for three years, Hutchinson was also fined �300 in respect of driving with no insurance.