"One call could save a life:" More than 300 suspected drink and drug drivers arrested in Cambridgeshire so far in 2025
Police are reminding the public that just one call to a confidential drink/drug drive hotline could save a life, as new figures reveal more than 300 suspected drink or drug drivers have been arrested so far this year.
A total of 305 suspects were arrested in Cambridgeshire between January and July.
Officers from the Road Policing Unit (RPU) will be proactively patrolling the county and conducting breathalyser tests this summer, with offenders facing a minimum 12-month driving ban, and potentially up to six months in prison.
The confidential hotline - 0800 032 0845 - is available 24/7.
PC Adrian Boddington, the force’s casualty reduction officer, said people could face greater temptations to drink drive during the summer season when there are traditionally more planned events.
He said: “Driving under the influence is never worth the risk. Every drink drive arrest represents a potential tragedy narrowly avoided, lives that could have been lost or changed forever.
“We will not tolerate dangerous driving under the influence. Officers will be out in force this summer, and if you make that choice, you’re likely to be caught.
“Please consider a designated driver system or make sure to book taxis in advance, so there is no temptation to drive home while potentially over the limit. Before you get behind the wheel please think – is it really worth the risk?
“I’d also like to remind people that they can help us make our roads safer by reporting those they suspect of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.
“We have a dedicated confidential hotline; one call could save a life.”
In May, a driver blew twice the limit in Lincoln Road after having ‘half a bottle of rum’ the night before.
Victoria North, 34, drove her white van into the back of a Vauxhall Corsa at just after 8am on 3 April.
North, of Meadway, Market Deeping, told officers the last drink she’d had was half a bottle of rum the night before.
She was handed a 20-month driving ban and a £69 fine after she admitted drink driving at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court in May.
Serial drink driver Mariusz Pawlos (50) was arrested in Henshaw, Parnwell, on April 26 after members of the public reported him as a suspected drink driver.
He had stopped his car in the middle of the road, was slurring his words and smelt of alcohol.
Officers tried to conduct a roadside breath test, but Pawlos failed to provide a specimen of breath four times.
Checks on the Police National Computer showed he had been disqualified from driving for six years in March 2023 after being convicted of failing to provide a specimen of breath.
Pawlos, of Chestnut Avenue, Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, who pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of breath, driving while disqualified, and threatening behaviour, after he shouted and swore at the officers during his arrest, was jailed for 12 weeks and banned from driving for three-and-a-half years by Peterborough magistrates.