POLICE in North Yorkshire arrested 143 motorists during their Christmas drink drive campaign.

North Yorkshire Police say that one man arrested in Ryedale was almost four times over the limit – the highest breathalyser reading recorded during the campaign. He was banned from driving until Summer 2023, given a curfew and ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work.

Another man in Scarborough was arrested twice in the same week on suspicion of drug driving.

And 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.

Sgt Morton added: “I’d also like to thank members of the public who called us to report suspected drink drivers this year – we acted on the information and arrests were made as a direct result of these calls.”

Around 50 suspected drink or drug drivers have so far been dealt with by the courts or given court dates. All those convicted face a minimum of a year disqualified from driving, a criminal record and large fines.

During this year’s campaign, the number of arrests rose slightly compared to the same period last year, when there were 137 arrests (4% increase).

A total of 29 arrests were as a result of collisions, 25 of which involved suspected drink drivers and four of which related to suspected drug driving.

Like last year, Scarborough district saw the highest number of arrests during the campaign, again closely followed by Harrogate district and York district.