A SUMMER campaign against drink drivers has been hailed a huge success by police after dozens of arrests.

The high profile action by North Yorkshire Police was targeted at people who drink or use drugs before getting behind the wheel and encouraged members of the public to alert officers to anyone who they thought might be driving while under the influence.

During the month-long campaign officers made 90 arrests and charged 48 people, many of whom were fast-tracked through the courts and lost their licences within weeks.

The figures for the summer campaign show that the number of people arrested and charged were higher than those recorded for the last Christmas drink-drive crackdown.

Although the campaign officially ended at midnight on June 30, officers have warned motorists that they are still on the lookout for drink and drug drivers and will act against anyone suspected of driving while intoxicated.

Traffic Sergeant Ian Pope, of the force’s roads policing group, said: “The fight against drink and drug driving never stops because it is dangerous, unacceptable and costs lives unnecessarily.

“The results of this summer’s campaign are very pleasing. We had a high-visibility presence on the roads and although we detected a lot of people who were driving while impaired, the fact that we have charged some of them means they will be banned and no longer a danger to other road users.”

The summer campaign also asked members of the public to become the eyes and ears of the force, and to report anyone who they knew or suspected was getting behind the wheel while drunk.

In one case two motorists stopped a 55-year-old woman from Knaresborough, when they became concerned about her driving on the A64 at Sand Hutton, near York.

They instructed her to pull over and waited with her in a lay-by until police arrived on the scene.

She was charged with drink driving when she was found to be almost four and a half times the legal limit, registering 153 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The woman will appear before magistrates next week.

To report a drink driver contact North Yorkshire Police on 0845-60-60-247.