A MAJOR drink and drug driving campaign has been launched by police involving extra patrols and the targetting of known offenders.

The campaign will see North Yorkshire Police officers out in force, carrying out stop checks at all times of the day including early mornings to detect those who are still over the limit from the night before.

They will also be targeting known offenders and key locations throughout the county.

The month-long campaign coincides with the World Cup and Traffic Sergeant Andy Morton said: “The vast majority of people who go out to watch matches make the right choice and arrange a taxi, public transport or a designated driver to get them home.

“Unfortunately though, we always encounter people who make the wrong choice by drinking and driving after the match, or maybe even the morning after when they think the alcohol is no longer in their system.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for drink or drug driving. “It’s selfish, it’s illegal and it wrecks lives.

“That’s why we’re targeting our resources to make sure we take as many drink or drug drivers off the road as possible.”

Police enforcement is being backed up by an awareness campaign in pubs, urging drinkers to “Let Des do the driving – choose a designated driver or arrange a taxi”.

The campaign is being jointly run by 95 Alive, the City of York and North Yorkshire councils, police and the fire service.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Don Mackenzie said: “In 2016 there were 96 collisions involving a driver or pedestrian impaired by alcohol.

“In five of these collisions a person died and 26 resulted in a serious injury.

“I would urge people to take note of how much they are drinking and always give their body at least one hour per unit to remove the alcohol before driving again.

“Typically two glasses of wine would need at least six hours and four pints of larger would need at least 12 hours before driving again.

“It’s not just about whether people are over or under the legal limit, it’s about their fitness to drive.”

During a similar campaign in June last year, police carried out more than 600 breath tests and arrested 98 motorists on suspicion of drink or drug driving offences.

The average breathalyser reading among those arrested was 65.7 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – almost twice the legal drink drive limit.