THE Evening Star begins its annual Christmas Name and Shame campaign in earnest tomorrow exposing the names and faces of those who flout the law by drinking and driving.

THE Evening Star begins its annual Christmas Name and Shame campaign in earnest tomorrow exposing the names and faces of those who flout the law by drinking and driving.

Throughout December and January the Star's reporters will be at Ipswich courts every day in a bid to publicly shame every drink driver who risks life and limb for the sake of a few drinks.

For more than ten years The Evening Star, with the support of Suffolk police, has run the campaign over the festive period - exposing hundreds of drivers who have failed breathe and blood tests while on the county's roads.

Nigel Pickover, Evening Star editor, said: “We believe that drinking and driving is a crime that deserves the strongest punishment and offenders should be made to face up to their actions publicly.

“The Evening Star has been naming and shaming drink drivers for more than a decade in the hope of deterring drivers from risking their lives and the lives of other road users by driving under the influence of alcohol.”

Despite high profile campaigns to try and stop people from driving while under the influence of alcohol, 2,161 people were tested in Suffolk in December last year and 150 (6.96 per cent) failed or refused the test.

Mr Pickover added: “Every year dozens of drink drivers appear before Ipswich courts and each and everyone must pay the price for their crime.

“As well as losing their licence, risking imprisonment and a fine, these people face public shame by having their name and photograph published in The Evening Star. Their families will also face the humiliation of knowing their loved one has broken the law.”

Police in the county run their own high profile campaign every December, conducting road side breathe tests and working in areas where they believe drink driving is going on.

Inspector Trevor Sharman, of Suffolk's roads policing unit, lent his support to the Star's campaign.

He said: “We are keen on any campaign that stops people getting behind the wheel when they shouldn't do. There is a hardcore out there which don't react to the message and don't react to public opinion and public opinion is that drinking and driving is a bad thing because it is dangerous.

“There are something like 500 deaths a year attributed to drink driving.”

The legal alcohol limit is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood or 35 microgrammes in 100ml of blood.

However police and road safety groups say drivers should drink no alcohol before getting behind the wheel as any alcohol affects driving ability.