WEST Mercia Police are reminding motorists, that even with pubs and clubs facing lockdown restrictions, the drink and drug drive law is still in place.

With the pubs and clubs closing early more people may be tempted to meet up with friends, drink at home and then drive. Enforcement of the drink and drug drive law is still a priority and enforcement is taking place 24/7.

There is no foolproof way of calculating how much you can drink and remain under the limit, or knowing how much an individual person can drink and still drive safely.

Any amount of alcohol or drugs can affect your ability to drive and there are numerous consequences of driving with drugs or alcohol in your system. Importantly, it is hard to calculate how long they may stay in your body.

There are plenty of alternatives available with public transport and taxi’s still in operation.

With the clocks changing in a few weeks with darker evenings now in place pedestrians are also being encouraged to stay safe and to plan safe routes home and to drink responsibly.

Figures indicate that over the past three years 21 people have died and 111 have been seriously injured in West Mercia following crashes where drink or drugs were recorded as a contributory factor.

Supt Mel Crowther for West Mercia Police said: ‘It’s extremely frustrating that some motorists still choose to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the knowledge that their actions could kill or seriously injure themselves or others. Some lockdown restrictions are in place for our area but this does not mean that our enforcement of the law has changed. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is completely unacceptable at any time and catching motorists who are prepared to take such a risk is a priority for West Mercia Police."