Police have praised vigilant members of the public after three men were arrested on suspicion of drink-driving and vehicle theft in Knaresborough.
At around 9.20pm last night (Wednesday 8 June 2011), three men were spotted getting out of a yellow Fiat Panda car at the St James Retail Park. One of them appeared to be staggering as he walked.
After a short while, the three returned to the car and it drove off in a very erratic manner.
Staff from a nearby business also called the police to report their concerns about the manner of driving of a small yellow hatchback car.
Police officers arrived at the scene a few minutes later and found three men with the suspect vehicle. All three denied driving the car and all were subsequently breathalysed at the scene.
The men’s breath test revealed between 87 and 141 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath.
All three men were arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
They were also arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft when further checks revealed the car did not belong to them.
One of the men is aged 22 and the other two are both 26. All three are from the Manchester area. They have been released on bail while police enquiries continue.
Roads Policing Inspector Nick Wattam praised the quick actions of the witnesses who reported their concerns to the police.
He said: “The public act as the eyes and ears of the police, their information is vital in helping us to prevent and detect crime.
“This incident demonstrates clearly how vigilant members of the public have helped to prevent a potentially serious incident which could have resulted in tragedy.
“Drink driving will not be tolerated on our roads and we hope this encourages more people to report their concerns about drink drivers to the police.”
Any other members of the public who saw a small, yellow, Fiat hatchback driving erratically in the Karesborough area are askedto contact the police on 0845 60 60 247, quoting reference 12110094169.
North Yorkshire Police and the county’s 95 Alive Road Safety Partnership are currently supporting the Association of Chief Police Officers’ (ACPO) Summer Drink and Drug Drive campaign between 1 June and 30 June.
Officers and PCSOs, together with emergency service and local authority partners, are providing a visible presence through a coordinated programme of road checks and awareness activities.
Suspected offenders are being identified and targeted through the gathering of intelligence.
Local residents are also being urged to play their part in the campaign by providing information anonymously about suspected drink and drug drivers to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 500 111.
And as in this particular case, people can also pass information directly to North Yorkshire Police on 0845 60 60 24 7
