The month-long campaign is part of a national crackdown, supported by the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), aimed at reducing the numbers of drink drivers on the roads.

The campaign aims to convince all drivers that a drink drive conviction has the potential to ruin their life by highlighting a mixture of the legal and personal consequences. It will be particularly aimed at 17-29 year-old men as research shows they are more likely to drive when over the legal limit or when unsure if they're over the legal limit. Figures also show young men are more likely to become casualties or lose their lives as a result of drink driving.

Last year's campaign was run nationally over the festive period. During that time 2,172 drivers were breathalysed and 300 drivers (14 per cent of those tested) provided positive results. This is down slightly from last year's (2007) results where 1,778 drivers were breathalysed and 224 drivers (13 per cent of those tested) provided positive breath tests.

Superintendent Mick Doyle of Thames Valley Police Roads Policing Department said: "Drinking and driving wrecks lives, most obviously the hundreds of victims and their loved ones who are killed each year but it also changes the lives of those selfish or stupid enough to drive when they are not fit to do so. We need the help of the public to put pressure on those who insist on putting others in danger by continuing to drink and drive."

If you know someone is drinking and driving, report them to police or call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

All drivers who provide a positive breath test or face a field impairment test to determine whether they have been using drugs, refuse to provide or fail to provide, face losing their licence for at least 12 months. They could go to prison for six months or pay a fine of up to £5,000.