Drink and drug-drive week of action round-up in Lancashire

Almost 70 people were caught driving under the influence of drink or drugs last week as part of an intensive week of action.

The 66 people were stopped and all were either driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or refused to give a breath sample for testing. They were stopped as part of the countywide summer week against impaired driving.

Examples include:

- Somebody caught after crashing into a stationary vehicle in Walmer Bridge. He later told officers he had nipped out in his girlfriend’s car to buy more beer. He was found at the roadside to be four times the legal limit for alcohol.

- A man who drove drunk all the way from Longridge to Wesham with two children in the car with him.

- A motorist seen driving erratically up the M6, including along the hard shoulder. He was eventually stopped in Lancaster and found to be almost three times the legal limit for alcohol.

- A care worker stopped in Fulwood and found to be under the influence of cannabis. A cared-for child was a passenger in the car at the time.

- A driver found to be twice the legal limit for alcohol, after being seen reaching speeds of up to 130mph on the M55.

Insp Rob Conolly-Perch, of the Lancashire Police TacOps team, said: “This week of action was entirely intelligence-led, with officers targeting people reported to be regularly drink or drug-driving.

 “Shockingly, a total of 66 people we stopped were indeed found to be over the legal limit for alcohol or drugs – all of them putting themselves and others in danger of serious injury or even death.

 “What we’d like to stress is that we stopped many, many more drivers who were only just under the legal limit and those people – and the rest we still have on our list – will continue to be targeted and will eventually be caught.

 “The consequences of drink or drug-driving are never worth it and it’s something we take extremely seriously in Lancashire.”

To report your suspicions about a drink or drug-driver, call 101 or 999 for an immediate incident or where a life is in danger. You can also report it online at doitonline.lancashire.uk.