Nine Suffolk motorists are already in danger of losing their licences after being arrested for drink-driving during the first week of a Christmas crackdown.

Eight have been charged, while another has been released on bail until next month.

As part of The Star’s annual name and shame campaign we are committed to covering as many court hearings involving drink-drivers detained during the festive season as possible.

Among the motorists charged in the last week was shop manager Kerry Fitch, 47, of Thornhill Road, Ipswich, who was detained by police on Wednesday in Ipswich Road, Claydon.

She must appear before Ipswich magistrates on December 29.

On the same day Aaron Edmunds, 25, of Woolverstone Close, Ipswich, will also be in court charged with drink-driving.

He was arrested in Rands Way, Ipswich.

Basil Read, 74, of Cotswold Avenue, Ipswich, was charged with drink-driving on December 3 after being arrested in the town’s Fonnereau Road.

He must also appear before Ipswich magistrates on December 29.

The fourth alleged drink-driver in court that day will be Stuart Coleman, a 36-year-old computer consultant of Maidstone Road, Felixstowe. Coleman was arrested in Maidstone Road early on Saturday morning.

Factory worker Daniel Ostafie, 25, of Chevallier Street, Ipswich, was detained on Friday morning in King Street.

He is due to appear at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court on January 19.

Assistant racehorse trainer Oliver Costello, 31, of Moulton Paddocks, Moulton, near Newmarket, was arrested in Bury Road at 1.15am on December 1.

He is due to appear before Bury St Edmunds magistrates next Monday.

Christopher Mead, a 25-year-old designer of Hamlet Road, Haverhill, is also due to appear before Bury magistrates on December 21 charged with drink-driving early on Sunday morning.

Elizabeth Socratus, a mental health nurse from The Street, Lowestoft is due before Lowestoft magistrates on December 31. The 57-year-old was arrested at around 10.40pm last Tuesday.

Finally a 27-year-old female from Sudbury was detailed in the town’s Shorelands Avenue at 3.10am last Wednesday. She has not been charged but is currently on bail until January 8.

Suffolk Constabulary has once again re-affirmed its commitment to banishing drink-driving from the road.

Chief Inspector Chris Spinks, head of the Norfolk and Suffolk Roads Policing team, said: “We repeat the message every year but we still find drivers willing to risk their own lives and the lives of others by drinking and driving.

“Drivers are stopped and tested all year round but the seasonal campaigns give us the opportunity to highlight the dangers associated with getting behind the wheel while over the limit and the possible consequences.

“People caught drink driving will not only have a criminal record but will almost certainly lose their licence which could have significant implications for your work or home life.”