A spate of drink-driving has blighted South Hams roads over the past few weeks.
Police officers have dealt with six alleged drink-drivers in fewer than four weeks, with those charged being ‘named and shamed’ on social media.
Just last weekend, police reported that shortly after midnight on Sunday, police officers saw a grey Audi being driven in Salcombe without any headlights. The driver was stopped and spoken to and then breathalysed.
The roadside breathalyser test indicated that he was double the drink-drive limit and so he was arrested and taken to Torquay Police Station.
Samuel Bennett, 27, of Bradley Stoke, Bristol, was charged with drink-driving and bailed to appear at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court.
Officers were directed to the woman’s home address, where she was found.
She then failed a breath test. Jodie Pearce, 31, of Ivybridge, has been charged with drink-driving and bailed to court.
On Sunday, August 12, at about 5.15pm, there was a two-vehicle crash on Port Lane, Chillington, near Kingsbridge.
One of the drivers allegedly ripped off her number plate and then left the scene, driving down a gravel track and then into a corn field, where she abandoned her vehicle.
The driver was found a short time later and provided a positive breath test. She was arrested and taken to Torquay police atation.
Joanna Royle, 38, of Chillington, was charged with drink-driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. She has been bailed to attend Newton Abbot Magistrates Court.
On Friday, August 10, officers dealt with a crash on the road to Thurlestone. Nobody was seriously injured but the driver was taken to hospital. He was also arrested for being more than twice the legal limit.
Police officers at the scene said: “Thank you very much to the people who provided first aid at the scene while the ambulance came from Plymouth. We can’t name him as he hasn’t been charged or reported yet, but watch this space.”
In Dartmouth, a man was arrested for drink-driving and hitting a pedestrian on the evening of Monday, July 30. Police received a 999 call to attend the North Embankment, Dartmouth, where a pedestrian has been hit by a car.
The driver of the Land Rover was arrested at the scene after providing a positive roadside breath sample and then taken to a Torquay police station. The pedestrian was taken to hospital with a broken collar bone.
On Tuesday, July 31, Paul Jackson, 65, of Kimver, Staffordshire, was charged with drink-driving. He was released on bail until September 5, when he will appear at court in Newton Abbot.
Meanwhile, in the courts, Rory O’Neill, 36, of Prior Close, Ivybridge, was arrested on May 9 after driving in Hillside Avenue, Plymouth, with a 97mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
He admitted the charge at Plymouth Magistrates Court this month and was fined £288 and ordered to pay a £30 victim surchage plus £85 costs. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.
On average, 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year in drink-drive collisions in the UK. Nearly one in six of all deaths on the road involve drivers who are over the legal alcohol limit.
A Kingsbridge-based police officer said: “Drink-driving is a crime and there is no excuse for it.
“I have attended too many scenes where drink-drivers have abruptly cut short the lives of innocent people. I’ve had to tell parents, children, grandparents, that their relative isn’t coming home because someone chose to drink and drive that day.
“It never gets easier to understand why people would get behind the wheel of a metric tonne of metal while under the influence. You are essentially driving a lethal weapon.
“If you drink and drive you could lose your licence, your job, your family, and you could take a life. Being in charge of a vehicle while over the legal limit or unfit through drink could result in three months imprisonment, a fine of up to £2,500 and a driving ban.
“Make no mistake, drink-driving ruins lives.”