Teen, 16, among 207 drivers arrested in Devon and Cornwall for drink or drug driving

More than 200 drivers were arrested in Devon and Cornwall over Christmas as police held a month-long crackdown on drink and drug driving, with the youngest person 16 years old.

Throughout December, police made 207 arrests in total - 166 were for drink driving and 41 for driving with excess drugs.

The highest alcohol reading came at 3 pm on New Year's Eve, when police arrested a 44-year-old man who blew four times the legal limit.

For drug-driving related offences, police stopped drivers and asked them to complete a roadside swab. If positive, they were arrested and had to give a blood sample in custody.

Of the 41 people arrested for excess drug-driving related offences, 34 were men, and seven were women. The youngest was 17 years old, and the oldest was 59.

Superintendent Adrian Leisk, from the alliance roads policing team said: “Those charged throughout the campaign were not necessarily your ‘usual’ suspects. Too many people who are otherwise law-abiding citizens, fail to consider the untold devastation that drink and drug driving can cause."

He continued: "In the past, I have been the person knocking on the door to inform relatives that their loved one has been killed as a result of a motorist who thinks it is okay to get behind the wheel while under the influence.

"This is something that I do not want my team to have to do during the festive period, or any other time of year." Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, is also the Association of Police Crime Commissioners' national lead for road safety.

"There is absolutely no excuse for drink or drug driving and I was shocked to see how many people were dealt with for this offence throughout the festive period," said Commissioner Hernandez.

“Drink and drug driving is a choice people take which endangers lives and it is completely unacceptable. Those who are caught face losing their license and potentially their jobs and livelihoods – as well as potentially causing death or serious injury to themselves or others."