Police say motorists are still not heeding their festive drink-drive message - with a big rise in the number of arrests this Christmas.

Some 349 vehicles were stopped during the festive anti-drink drive campaign during December.

A total of 23 arrests were made which resulted in eight drivers being charged to court.

Eleven were bailed pending further inquiries and four were released without charge.

There were 14 arrests during the same operation in December 2017.

The 2018 campaign used the slogans ’Think bus not busted’ and ’None for the road’.

Roads policing officers were deployed around the island throughout the month with extra attention being placed on the roads at weekends and into the early hours of the morning.

Officers had cause to breathalyse 38 drivers and 59 vehicle defect rectification forms were also distributed during the period.

Sergeant Jamie Tomlinson of the roads policing unit said: ’It’s clear that the 2018 drink drive campaign has been effective with an increase in arrests made from previous years.

’This is due to more officers being pro-actively dedicated to the anti-drink drive operation in both marked and unmarked police vehicles.’

He added: ’Whilst on patrols, officers were also able to target unroadworthy vehicles in order to ensure safety on our roads.

’We’d like to thank the Department of Infrastructure for their support with the matrix signs this year, which saw drink drive warnings placed in key locations around the island. We also used social media to remind the public that drink driving will not be tolerated and our commitment to identifying and prosecuting those who offend.

’Unfortunately, it is apparent that drivers of all ages are not heeding our warnings and are still willing to take the risk.

’The constabulary remains committed to tackling drink driving all year round.’

Home Affairs Minister Bill Malarkey said: ’Everyone knows the risks and dangers of drink driving.

’It’s extremely disappointing to see that there are still some people who make the decision to do it, putting the lives of themselves and others at incredible risk.

’I’d like to praise this year’s officers for their hard work across the festive period and ensuring that our roads are safe.’