Police have been carrying out random drink and drug tests on a South West ferry service.

Operation Ferry is a part of Devon and Cornwall Police’s push to reduce the number of alcohol and drug-related driving deaths in the build up to Christmas.

It took place on the Torpoint Ferry where officers waited on either side of the service in Plymouth and Torpoint to carry out the tests.

The force said it hoped the operation would highlight how long drugs and alcohol stayed in the blood stream after being consumed the night before.

Sgt Owen Messenger said the operation had gone well and nobody had blown over the limit.

He said 17% of the fatal crashes recorded by the force annually “are attributable to alcohol” and people who consumed alcohol should know how long to wait until they could drive again.

“It’s one unit per hour, [then add on another] half an hour after your last drink,” Mr Messenger said.

“So if you think a pint of beer is three units and you have five pints in the evening, that’s 15 hours before you’re fit to drive again.

“If you finish drinking at 11:30 at night, you should leave it half an hour until midnight, then 15 hours from there.”

The work is a part of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s annual Christmas campaign, Operation Limit, which runs until the start of January.

It specifically focuses on the use of drugs and alcohol during the festive period.

Earlier this year, Devon and Cornwall Police revealed that in 2024 there were 960 arrests made of people driving their vehicles while over the limit of alcohol consumption.

For drivers unfit through the use of drugs there were 257 arrests made.