PEOPLE at an air base have been given a lesson on the dangers of drink-driving.

They were taking part in a mock incident at RAF Leeming, set up by the Hambleton Community Safety Partnership.

The scenario was that a 22-year-old airman was in a hurry to get to work when he misjudged a bend and collided with a tree, only hours after he had been out drinking.

The event also highlighted the need to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the district's roads. In the ten months to last month there have been nine fatalities and 81 serious injuries.

"Many of those accidents had drink as their root cause," said partnership officer, Simon Gibson, the group manager of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

"I hope that showing people the effects of a car crash - mock or not - will shock them into thinking twice before they have a drink and then drive.

"Seeing someone you know cut out of a car and strapped to a stretcher is quite gruelling.

"People also need to realise that if you have been out drinking the night before you may still be affected by alcohol the next day - you might feel OK to drive but you may still be over the legal alcohol limit."