PEOPLE will be able to report drink-drivers by text message, as North Yorkshire Police strive to catch more offenders.

The force plans to launch a new number later this year following the success of a similar scheme in Sussex.

It is thought the method will appeal to people who want to report a drink-driver subtly, rather than confronting them, and one drink-drive victim today says it could help save lives.

Traffic Sergeant Pete Stringer, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “The public have been fantastic in reporting drink-drivers. We had someone ring us from a supermarket saying someone had been drinking and was about to drive, and we caught him.

“We hope to introduce a texting system this year. Sussex Police have done it, and it has worked for them.”

Drink-drive victim Angela Scott, of York, welcomed the new move. In 2010, while she was pregnant, she was knocked off her bike and nearly killed by a woman at more than three times the drink-drive limit.

She said: “I wish there had been an easy way for somebody to have reported the person who ran me over, perhaps preventing the accident happening. My old life seems like a dream which I long to return to.”

She said she could imagine people in a bar wondering whether to report someone about to drink-drive, but said: “By reporting the crime they could quite possibly be saving somebody’s life, or saving them from a life-time of misery. People need to take action against this type of crime – as they would with any other.

“Drink-driving absolutely devastates lives; this initiative will make it much easier for people to report these criminals and that can only be a good thing.

“Nobody likes to be a ‘tell-tale’ especially not if you are reporting on a friend or acquaintance, but people need to think of the bigger picture and the consequences of drink-driving.”

She said by reporting offenders, people were helping potential victims and also the drivers themselves, who may not be thinking clearly.

Police have arrested 60 suspected drink-drivers since June 1 and TS Stringer said offenders were caught in various ways, including public reporting, police stops, or breathalyser tests carried out after accidents or when drivers are stopped for other motoring offences.

• A national study published today reveals many motorists are falling into the trap of thinking it is okay to drive after “just a few” alcoholic drinks.