AN average of three people a day were arrested for drink-driving on North Yorkshire’s roads last year.

In total of 1,026 people were arrested after being caught drink-driving – 294 in York, 190 in Harrogate, 224 in Scarborough, 230 in Northallerton and Richmond, 22 in Selby and 66 in Skipton.

Many of the drink-drivers were caught following a tip-off from a member of the public, North Yorkshire Police said.

Traffic sergeant Pete Stringer said: “The dangers of drink-driving are well documented.

“Drink-driving costs lives and costs people who get caught their livelihoods.

“Thankfully, attitudes to drink-driving have changed over the years and people are more aware of the dangers and are much less tolerant of people who choose to drink and drive.

“In fact, the public are really helping us to catch drink-drivers by providing information about people they suspect of getting behind the wheel while over the limit.

“I would encourage people to keep providing us with this information, because one day it could be someone you know who is killed by a drink-driver.”

Among those to appear in court charged with drink-driving in North Yorkshire last year was a 39-year-old woman from Easingwold who pleaded guilty to driving through Selby while three-and- a-half times the legal alcohol limit.

A 27-year-old Leeds man was ordered to pay more than £5,000 and received a suspended prison sentence after getting so drunk at a wedding he drove the wrong way down the A64 between Hopgrove roundabout and Grimston Bar, in the early hours of June 24, causing another vehicle to swerve out of the way and overturn a number of times.

A 22-year-old man from Wheldrake appeared in court and was fined and banned from driving after being caught two times over the limit when he forgot to turn his headlights on.

North Yorkshire Police runs two campaigns a year to tackle drink-driving at Christmas and in the summer.

The drink and drugs crackdown over the Christmas period last year saw North Yorkshire Police carry out 3,455 breath tests and arrest 114 motorists on suspicion of drink-driving with 13 drivers arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired through drugs.