A CRACKDOWN on festive drinking and driving has been launched with the message: Booze can ruin Christmas.

Almost 300 people gave positive breath tests or failed to give a sample during Lancashire police's annual initiative last year.

The force has also more than doubled the number of breath tests it has carried out, taking 19,520 in the year ending in March 1996.

But it is not just the drivers who are suffering 12 months down the line - many victims of drink drivers are still feeling the effects of their actions.

This year's campaign, run jointly with Lancashire County Council, will be launched on Tuesday

Motorbike "hit squads" will again be on the county's roads to help local officers target problem areas.

The festive crackdown will run until Thursday January 2 and motorists have again been warned that they could still be over the limit the morning after a night of drinking.

Lancashire police accident prevention officer Inspector Peter Stas said: "Over last year's Christmas campaign, between December 6 and January 2, there were 289 positive tests, failures or refusals.

"Those were people who are suffering the consequences of their actions now because they are banned from driving but there are also those who suffered injuries as a result of incidents caused by drink drivers."

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