15 arrests for drinking and driving in the Scarborough area so far this Christmas

North Yorkshire Police have released arrest figures at the halfway point of their CHristmas drink and drug driving campaign as children from North Yorkshire share an important message for motorists this Christmas Eve – ‘drink driving is naughty and you’ll get into trouble’.
Police have arrested 15 people so far this Christmas for drinking and driving in the Scarborough area.Police have arrested 15 people so far this Christmas for drinking and driving in the Scarborough area.
Police have arrested 15 people so far this Christmas for drinking and driving in the Scarborough area.

They chat about the issue in a North Yorkshire Police video, launched to mark the half-way point of the county’s Christmas drink and drug driving campaign.

Since the campaign began two weeks ago, 56 motorists have been arrested in the county on suspicion of drink or drug driving offences.

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With logic that seemingly evades scores of adults this Christmas, one little girl who is asked why drink driving is bad explains: “You could crash, and you could get hurt, and you could go to jail.”

Another who is asked what sort of people do it explains: “People who drink and drive are naughty and they only think about themselves.”

Traffic Sergeant Andy Morton said: “It comes to something when children as young as seven have to explain to adults why driving under the influence of drink or drugs is wrong.

“We produced this video to show how simple this concept is to understand – if you drink or drug drive, you could get arrested, or worse, you could seriously hurt someone.

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“Unfortunately we’ll arrest scores of people this Christmas who aren’t as smart as a seven-year-old and will fail to grasp this.”

The campaign, which launched on December 9 and included a public engagement event in Harrogate, encourages motorists to do a good deed this Christmas by volunteering to be a designated driver for family, friends and colleagues.

This includes nights out and the morning after, when North Yorkshire Police catch many people who are still over the limit.

North Yorkshire Police will continue conducting random roadside checks across the entire county throughout December.

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They will also be gathering intelligence about repeat offenders and targeting those individuals.

Twenty of the 56 motorists arrested in North Yorkshire have so far been charged, with investigations continuing in other cases while test results are analysed and other enquiries are carried out.

Help us keep North Yorkshire’s roads safe. If you know someone who regularly drinks and drives, call North Yorkshire Police on 101. If you see an offence happening or about to happen, report it on 999 immediately.

Regional breakdown of arrests to date:

Richmond -1

Harrogate - 15

York - 9

Selby - 12

Scarborough - 15

Ryedale - 1

Hambleton - 3

Craven - 0