MORE drink-drivers are being caught behind the wheel in Dorset this Christmas, new police figures reveal.

In the first two weeks of a campaign the total number of positive breath tests has been 96 compared with 64 during the same period last year - an increase of 50 per cent.

The number of road accidents resulting in injury or death has reduced slightly but the number of drivers giving a positive breath test following a collision has risen from 10 last year to 12 this year.

Boozers who get behind the wheel during the party season are being targeted by Dorset Police in an initiative running throughout December.

Officers have set up morning checkpoints to catch motorists still over the limit from the night before but they have also acted on information from the public.

So far there have been 91 phone calls from the public resulting in 12 motorists being arrested, compared to 89 phone calls and 22 positive breath tests during the first two weeks of the 2004 campaign.

Chief Inspector Rick Dowell, of Dorset Police's Operations Tactical Group, said: "As we approach the busiest week of the campaign I am encouraged by the positive response from the public in helping us to track down those drivers who present a very real and potentially fatal danger to other road users.

"I am extremely grateful to those people who have helped us so far and I encourage the public to continue their support. Those people who choose to drink and drive present a danger to other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians as well as to themselves and their passengers. I am determined to make the roads of Dorset safer by taking drink drivers off the road."

Chief Insp Dowell urges partygoers to make travel arrangements in advance and leave the car at home. Parents can help keep their children safe by making sure they are not driven by someone who has been drinking.

Anyone with information about drink drivers can call in confidence on 01305 222222 or contact Crimestoppers.