THE sister of a man killed in a drink drive crash says getting behind the wheel drunk is unforgiveable.

Joan Dickinson spoke out after the number of motorists arrested in the police Christmas campaign went up by almost 50 per cent.

Dorset Police arrested 133 people for drink driving in December, a 48 per cent increase from last year when 90 arrests were made.

The number of arrests had been falling steadily every year since 2006 until this year.

Mrs Dickinson, of Dorchester, said: “The fact that so many people chose to drink and drive is disgusting. It’s ludicrous that people take lives into their own hands like this.

“If you get behind the wheel when you’re over the limit and you kill someone then to me that’s murder.”

Her brother Dennis Watts, 56, died after an articulated lorry driven by Didier Andre Gillis ploughed into his tractor on the A35 Puddletown bypass in April 2009.

Gillis was jailed for six years following the death of Mr Watts, a grandfather from Bere Regis.

Of the 133 people arrested in this year’s campaign, 113 were men and more than one third of them were under the age of 30.

Mrs Dickinson said: “It doesn’t surprise me that most of the people arrested were men. It’s the men who always take the chances because they seem to think they’re invincible and they’re obviously not.

“I don’t know what it would take to stop people from drink driving, maybe if something happened to som-eone in their family then I’m sure they would think twice.”

During the month-long campaign every driver involved in a collision was breath tested and a total of 31 drivers were arrested after they were involved in a crash.

There was also an increase in traffic patrols and roadside checks.

“The police do everything they can but you don’t always know if someone’s drunk behind the wheel. It’s only if you see them swerving in the road that they can be stopped,” said Mrs Dickinson. “I admire how many people the police have caught. It’s amazing how brilliant they are to catch that many.”

Officers also acted on information from the public to catch suspected drunk drivers on Dorset’s roads.

Mrs Dickinson added: “It’s a shame that some people are so stupid.

“I think the law has to get tougher and show that we are not having it – a few months’ driving ban isn’t in proportion to the crime.”

Four people were killed on Dorset’s roads last year in drink or drug related collisions.

Increase is disappointing

Inspector Matt Butler of Dorset Police Traffic Division, said: “It is extremely disappointing that so many drivers risked their lives and the lives of other road users by choosing to drink and drive over the festive season.

“The number of Christmas arrests has decreased year-on-year since 2006 so this increase is clearly disappointing.

“It is particularly concerning to see that the number of young drivers arrested during the campaign is so high.

“Of all the drivers arrested during the campaign 43 per cent were under the age of 30.”

Insp Butler added: “Throughout the campaign we received excellent support from the public informing us of suspected drink drivers. I want to thank everyone that contacted us and I encourage the public to continue to dial 999 if they believe someone is driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”