Police figures indicate that there was a rise in the number of motorists detected during this year’s winter anti-drink driving campaign.

Of the 478 people detected, 82 up on last year, the youngest was a 15 year-old and the oldest 76 years of age. Just under 180 drivers were found over twice the legal limit while 43 were over three times the legal limit and five over four times the legal limit.

Commenting on the figure, Superintendent Ian Hamill, head of the Police Service’s Road Policing Development Branch, said: "It is disappointing that during the period from 25th November to New Year’s Day some 478 people decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking. That, of course, means 478 people who are now looking into 2004 with the inevitable prospect of losing their licences, and in some cases their livelihoods.

“We said at the outset of the campaign that there would be no hiding place for those who drink and drive. The figures from across the Province show that we lived up to that determination. We screened more than 3,000 drivers, a significant rise of almost 1,000 on the same period as last year.”

The figure, which is up on the same period last year, included motorists who were unfit to drive, or who were unable or refused to give a sample.

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