REVEALED: Nearly one in five drink-drivers in London were born in Eastern Europe
NEARLY one in five motorists prosecuted for drink driving in London were born in Eastern Europe, official figures reveal.
Nearly one in five motorists prosecuted for drink driving in London were born in Eastern Europe
The police anti-drink-driving campaign is hitting home and the number of people found drunk at the wheel is falling.
But the proportion of drivers charged with the offence from the old Iron Curtain countries is rising.
In 2013, Eastern European nationals made up 15 per cent of the 6,018 of drink drivers charged.
Last year, they comprised 19 per cent of the 4,296 motorists prosecuted for the offence.
The tally was made up of 312 Romanians, 228 Poles, 135 Lithuanians, 34 Bulgarians, 23 Hungarians, 18 Moldovans, 18 Latvians, 14 Ukrainians and 13 from Albania.
The proportion of drivers charged with the offence from Eastern Europe is rising
Police believe the numbers reflect the different attitudes to drink-driving in Britain and East Europe.
Statistics show 24,880 people have been killed by drink-drivers in Britain between 1979 and 2014.
During that period, deaths peaked at 1,170 in 1984. In 2014, 240 people where killed in incidents when at least one driver was over the limit.