Skip to content

'More people drink and drug drive every year'

Ollie SamuelsBBC North West, Preston
News imageBBC PC Ella Thornton is pictured standing in front of a road. The first lane is coned off with police officers directing traffic. PC Thornton has blonde hair and she is smiling. She is wearing a police hat and a fluorescent jacket with police uniform and a radio underneath.BBC
PC Ella Thornton said people needed to know that drinking and driving was not acceptable

Police in Lancashire are to increase patrols on the roads over Christmas as part of a campaign to curb rising levels of drink and drug-related casualties.

Kimberley Whitehead, Lancashire deputy police and crime commissioner, said: "Every festive period our officers see consequences first-hand with families devastated.

"Operation Limit is, simply put, about saving lives over Christmas."

Police charged 314 people with either drink or drug driving at the same time last year as officers conducted 2,496 drink and drug tests.

News imageKimberley Whitehead is pictured wearing a purple blazer and navy scarf. She is standing next to a road on a rainy day and is underneath a large black umbrella.
Kimberley Whitehead is the deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Lancashire

Police said that the number of people charged rises every year, particularly in relation to drug-driving offences.

During the first checkpoint in Preston, a man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of cannabis after a car was pulled over in a routine check.

PC Pete Weatherstone, from Lancashire Police, said: "My colleague immediately smelled cannabis from the vehicle when they wound the window down."

Other drivers in Preston were given tickets for other offences, including insecure loads.

News imageA police car with flashing lights behind a sign for a drink and drug check site. A car approaches and some police officers in high visibility jackets are visible in the background.
Police said the number of people charged rises every year

His colleague PC Ella Thornton explained: "People need to be getting the message that it's not acceptable to drink and drive."

She added officers often catch people who drank the night before "and still think that they can risk it and go to work the next morning."

The stereotype is untrue, she said, that often it is young men drink or drug driving.

"It's working people, younger, older... we have a mix of people across the board," she added.

Operation Limit also involves messaging from the police on pub screens, petrol pumps and other key locations.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.