DRIVERS continued to drink or drugs drive over the festive holiday with those arrested by police exactly the same as a year ago.

Operation Attention, which ran from the beginning of December to New Year's Day, saw 137 drivers arrested in North Yorkshire - exactly the same as in Christmas 2016 and and increase of 13 on 2015.

Of those, 83 arrests were made for drink driving, and 54 for drug driving. The vast majority - 117 - were men, and 20 were women.

Harrogate saw the highest number of arrests at 29, with 28 made in York, and 14 in Craven.

A third of the arrests made were after a road traffic collision.

The highest breathalyser reading of the campaign was 141 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35, provided by a 41-year-old woman arrested in the Thirsk area on December 11.

She appeared at Northallerton Magistrates Court on December 19 , where she pleaded guilty and received a 36-month driving ban, was ordered to pay £200 costs and was given a 16 week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

15 drivers arrested provided breathalyser readings of over 100 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, meaning 11 per cent of those arrested were in excess of two and a half times the legal limit.

Sergeant Andy Morton of North Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Group said: “The dangers of drink and drug driving are widely known and across the Christmas period we issue numerous warnings and deterrent messages to drivers, to both highlight the dangers of driving over the limit and make them well aware that police are patrolling the roads.That’s why it is both shocking and astounding to see that some still choose to ignore the warnings and not only risk arrest and prosecution, but the physical safety of themselves and other road users."

He added: “However, the arrests figures released today demonstrate that officers remain vigilant and fully committed to identifying these drivers and getting them off the roads. Although the Christmas campaign has drawn to a close, our determination to ensure that the roads remain safe for the public of North Yorkshire remains resolute and we will persist in targeting drink and drug drivers throughout the year. We also continue to work alongside our partners at the 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership in the educational and preventative work they deliver."

Sgt Morton also paid tribute to those who reported people they suspected of drink or drug driving.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the public who picked up the phone and reported drink and drug drivers to us. Your actions assisted police in tracking these drivers down and arresting them and ultimately, lives being saved.”