A SOLICITOR says calls from drink drivers went up by 30 per cent during the party season.

Jeanette Miller, of Manchester firm Geoffrey Miller solicitors, who specialise in defending clients against driving offences, believes the rise could be partly due to new 24-hour licensing laws.

She said the company, which has offices in Manchester and Altrincham, was being contacted by more people who had been stopped by the police the morning after a night out and tested positive for drink.

Ms Miller said: "The increase has coincided with the new licensing laws and perhaps that, combined with the Christmas party season, is making people more likely to end up over the limit.

"A large proportion of people have been caught the morning after a night out. One client stopped drinking at midnight and thought he had left enough time to drive to work before eight the next day, but when he was pulled over he was still over the limit.

Gap

"Under the old laws, people were mostly finishing drinking at 11pm when the pubs shut, but now licensing hours have been extended they are more likely to stay for a few more, which extends the gap you need between the last drink and driving."

Ms Miller said clients were also confused about how much they could drink before driving. She said: "One woman had two glasses of wine and thought that would put her under the limit, but while the official measure for one unit of wine is 125ml, the majority of pubs serve larger measures.

"It's common for people to be shocked when they discover being found over the limit carries a mandatory driving ban. We can try to lessen the ban but there is nothing that can be done to avoid disqualification.

"We specialise in representing people for driving offences, but I wouldn't condone drink driving.

"I would advise people to arrange a taxi if they have to drive the next morning, or take public transport. It may seem inconvenient but the alternative could be taxis or public transport for 12 months."

Carl Miller, senior solicitor at the firm, said they had already had a lot of calls since re-opening yesterday.

He said: "We had a notable increase before Christmas and have already had a lot of calls about the New Year period.

"The festive season is obviously a big part of this but I think the later drinking hours has had an impact.

"Maybe people think if they stay out longer they will miss the 2am rush and there will be less police on the roads if they drive home at 4am, but that is clearly not the case from the number of calls we are getting."

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