More than 140 arrests for drink driving in North Yorkshire over Christmas

The North Yorkshire Police campaign ran for a month.

Author: Harry LongPublished 6th Jan 2021

More than 140 motorists were arrested by North Yorkshire Police during a Christmas campaign to tackle drink driving.

31 drivers were arrested in Harrogate and 10 in Craven.

A delivery driver arrested near Skipton was charged with driving his van while he was almost three times over the alcohol limit.

During the campaign, which ran between 1 December and 1 January, police patrolled community roads, main routes and country lanes across North Yorkshire around the clock.

They also acted on information supplied by members of the public, which led to a number of arrests during the campaign.

Roads Policing Group Sergeant Andy Morton, who led the operation for North Yorkshire Police, said: “It’s very concerning that despite us warning drink drivers we’d catch them, so many ignored these warnings. They risked it and now they are facing the consequences.

“As everyone else anticipates getting back to some kind of normality in 2021, these motorists will be adjusting to life without a driving licence.

“In a large rural county such as North Yorkshire, losing your licence can make life very difficult and sometimes costs people their job. When you are allowed to drive again, insurance costs skyrocket.

“But we see the horrific aftermath of drink driving collisions, so we have very little sympathy for anyone who chooses to endanger themselves and others.

“That’s why we’ll be continuing to focus on drink and drug drivers throughout 2021. We’re determined to get them off our roads and we know the public fully support that."