POLICE will hold the region's biggest ever blitz against drink drivers as part of a hard-hitting campaign this Christmas.

Officers from the Durham, Cleveland and Northumbria forces will breath test thousands of drivers at roadside stops during December.

Senior policemen have spent months drawing up the plan in a bid to reduce deaths on the roads. They are staying tight-lipped about where drivers will be targeted in the early morning, afternoon and evening spot checks.

But they revealed intelligence-led operations will be mounted between Teesside and the Scottish borders against drivers identified as 'potential killers.'

Traffic officers will compile details of offenders who persist in driving while over the limit - including where they live, which pubs they use and the cars they drive.

The annual campaign was launched at Durham's Ramside Hall Hotel under the message How will you get home tonight?

Gathered media and Government officials were given a preview of a television campaign to run throughout December showing graphic images from real accidents.

In one scene a victim is zipped into a body bag, while in another paramedics frantically try to save a person's life with heart massage.

A Victorian hearse reinforced the blunt message that drinking and driving can end in tragedy. Figures show a hard core of drivers are still prepared to get behind the wheel while drunk.

In the first nine months of this year 33,854 roadside breath tests in the North-East resulted in 3,796 arrests.

In the same period last year 35,711 people were breathalysed, of which 4,025 were positive.

Durham's Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg said: "Drinking and driving is unacceptable to the vast majority of people and there is no doubting constant campaigning works.

"Over the last decade the number of deaths caused by drunken drivers has halved, but statistics tell us that one in five of all drivers who die in road smashes have more than the legal limit of alcohol in their bodies.

"Our motive for mounting our latest campaign is simple - to save lives, particularly in the run-up to Christmas."

Pupils from Durham High School for Girls' Choir sang carols at the launch to show a positive Christmas tradition