David Ruffley MP has today released new House of Commons figures which reveal that in 2004, the latest year for which figures are currently available, 1,332 people were found guilty of driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs in Suffolk.

David obtained the figures during his questioning of Vernon Coaker, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office.

In 2004 1,332 people were convicted of driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs, of these 89 received immediate custodial sentences- an increase of 35 percent on the previous year.

David said:

'In 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, 1,332 people were convicted of driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs. Since 2000 the number of convictions has gone up in every year, rising by a staggering 48 percent over a four year period.

'Of course it is good news that the police are clamping down on drink driving but these figures make it clear that more needs to be done to tackle the root cause of the problem.

'We need to look at the road safety campaigns that are running in Suffolk and consider what further pre-emptive action can be taken to tackle this alarming rise. Harsher sentencing is one possible solution and I welcome the fact that between 2003 and 2004 the number of immediate custodial sentences given in Suffolk rose by 35 percent.

'More people were convicted in Suffolk in 2004 than in neighbouring comparable counties such Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. In fact in Cambridgeshire the number of convictions, although at its highest level for some time, is still below the level experienced in 1997.

'It may be that Suffolk has something to learn from its neighbours on this matter and I have written to the Acting Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary, Colin Langham-Fitt, asking what steps his force has been taking to address the problem of drink driving.'

'Drink driving is one of those truly despicable crimes that not only endangers the perpetrator but also those around them and we must do everything in our power to stamp it out.'