Motorists caught in drink blitz

More than 50 motorists were caught over the limit behind the wheel during a month-long crackdown on drink drivers in Wolverhampton.

They are the first indication of the scale of the problem over the festive period ahead of the release of official West Midlands Police figures. Teams of police officers from Bilston Street station have been out on main routes around the city, stopping drivers and breathalysing suspects.

The police launch a high-profile campaign every Christmas in a bid to tackle the increase in drink driving over the festive period.

This year's campaign was extended to run from December 1 through to New Year's Day - and a total of 51 drivers in the west side of the city have been arrested.

Police said the figures indicated the problem with drink driving was actually getting worse in the city, despite the high-profile campaigns.

And they said it was "very disappointing" that motorists were still not getting the message.

Sgt Jon Jackson, of the Bilston Street road policing unit, said: "There is still a high number of people who drive after consuming too much alcohol, at this time of year even more so than normal.

"Despite our campaigns, drivers still get behind the wheel after drinking and I find this very disappointing. If anything, the problem is getting worse.

"These people just think they can get away with it. They just never seem to learn.

"People who drive after they have been drinking are putting their own lives and the lives of other road users at risk. With these campaigns we hope to make them realise that they can't get away with it.

"We will continue to pro-actively target drink drivers."

During the Christmas drink driving campaign in 2005, a total of 3,536 motorists were given breath tests and 552 failed. A total of 61 were arrested in the whole of Wolverhampton as part of the crackdown.

By Victoria Nash