Children as young as 11 and 12 caught drink driving

Greater Manchester was the worst area for under-18s caught drink driving. Credit: PA

Children as young as 11 and 12 are being caught drinking and driving, police records show.

An 11-year-old offender was apprehended in the Thames Valley area in 2011 while numerous 12-year-olds were stopped in Scotland in 2012 and in Manchester in 2008.

An average of 1,000 under-18s have been convicted of drink-driving per year since 2008, according to police figures obtained by in-car camera provider Nextbase.

The statistics showed there were an average of five drink-drivers under 18 caught each week since 2008.

Based on responses from 43 police forces following Freedom of Information Act requests, the figures covered the number of under-18 drink-drivers caught in the six years from 2008 to 2013.

Every one of the 43 forces had apprehended under-18 drink-drivers during the six years.

The figures showed that the worst English region for underage drink-driving in this period was Greater Manchester where 409 under-18s were arrested.

Other hotspots included:

  • Scotland: 718 drink-drive offenders from 2008 to 2013

  • Hampshire: 276 offenders

  • Devon and Cornwall: 241

  • Sussex 160

See the full list of under-18 drink driving arrests by UK region

Nextbase said the total number of underage drink-drive incidents had fallen year-on-year, but a number of police areas had seen an increase from 2012 to 2013.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: