On Air Now

Mike Nicholson

3:00pm - 6:00pm

  • 01723 336444

Now Playing

Listen Live Advertise

North Yorkshire sees Big Year on Year Increase in April Drink Driving

Thursday, 29 April 2021 13:18

By Matthew Pells

Thirty-five suspected drink drivers have been arrested by North Yorkshire Police within a fortnight of beer gardens reopening.

It represents a 75% increase compared to this time last year.

Officers say they are concerned that so many people have ignored their advice and now face a court appearance.

Roads Policing Sergeant Andrew Morton said:

“We’ve already encountered too many people who have ignored our warnings. Our message is simple – if you drink or drug drive, we will catch you.

“We have only just been allowed to start going to beer gardens again – don’t ruin this for yourself by losing your licence, getting a criminal record and driving ban, paying a heavy fine or going to prison.”

The arrest figures are comparable with pre-lockdown levels in 2019, when pubs were fully open.

More than 20 of the 35 arrested since 12 April are due to appear in court shortly.

A further 17 drivers have been arrested on suspicion of drug driving offences – a slight reduction fr0m the 20 arrested during the same period in 2020 and 19 arrested during the same period of 2019.

North Yorkshire Police launched its “Be a hero, Stay at zero” campaign as beer gardens reopened earlier this month, in a bid to prevent drink driving.

Sgt Morton added:

“We will be continuing to urge people to think about how they will get home and to use public transport or a designated driver”.

Sgt Morton urged anyone with information about drink or drug driving to phone North Yorkshire Police on 101, or if it’s happening now, call 999. Alternatively, you can report drink or drug drivers anonymously via Crimestoppers.

A breakdown of arrests in each district are as follows:

  • York – 11
  • Harrogate – 8
  • Scarborough – 6
  • Ryedale – 6
  • Hambleton – 4
  • Richmond – 4
  • Craven – 3
  • Selby – 3

Share

Did you find this article useful?

This is the Coast is committed to providing a daily local news service for the Yorkshire Coast. We are a small locally owned and operated business which employs professional journalists and reporters. We do not receive any public funding or grants and we are entirely funded by our local commercial operations. We enjoy fabulous support from local businesses who work with us on their advertising and marketing campaigns, but the cost of providing high quality, well researched, fact checked local news coverage is significant.

If you appreciate what This is the Coast does, and would like to help support our journalism, please consider supporting us on a monthly basis today.

A small contribution from all our readers would really help support independent journalism for the Yorkshire Coast.

More from Yorkshire Coast News

Comments

Add a comment

Log in to the club or enter your details below.

Follow Us

Get Our Apps

Our Apps are now available for iOS, Android and Smart Speakers.

  • Available on the App Store
  • Available on Google Play
  • Just ask Amazon Alexa
  • Available on Roku

Today's Weather

  • Scarborough

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Filey

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Whitby

    Light rain

    High: 7°C | Low: 3°C

  • Bridlington

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Hornsea

    Heavy Rain

    High: 8°C | Low: 3°C

  • Driffield

    Heavy Rain

    High: 7°C | Low: 3°C

News

© Copyright 2025 This is the Coast Limited. This is the Coast is licensed by PRS & PPL to stream music online. Powered by Aiir.