Police make 324 arrests in drink-drive crackdown

POLICE arrested more than 50 drivers in South Gloucestershire for driving under the influence of drink or drugs in a national blitz.

In total, Avon and Somerset Police arrested 324 drivers during the annual Operation Tonic in December, 51 of them in South Gloucestershire and 86 in Bristol. Numbers were 10% up on the previous year, with more than two thirds (68%) of arrests for drink-driving and the other 32% for drug-driving. About 2,000 drivers were stopped during the operation, of which 16% were arrested.

Police said four out of five drivers arrested were male.

Under-25s made up 17% of drivers arrested, with 25 to 34 year olds accounted for 30% and people aged 35-44 made up 26%.

People aged between 45 and 54 made up 17% of those arrested, with over-55s accounting for the other 10%.