Shock for drink drivers

As well as collecting a lengthy driving ban and a heavy fine, drink-drivers can be ordered by magistrates to attend a special three and a half month course to address their behaviour.

The Drink Impaired Drivers scheme, run by Sussex Probation Area, requires convicted drivers to attend 14 weekly group sessions and up to 10 further individual sessions, as well as completing homework.

Those who fail to finish the course successfully are sent back to court and could face a heavier sentence.

The programme teaches drivers about the effects of alcohol on their ability to control a car and addresses attitudes to drink-driving.

It also helps them to avoid drinking and driving in future and make better decisions about when it is safe to get behind the wheel.

Drivers are expected to keep a diary of how much they have drunk and how that affects their emotions. They are also encouraged to consider how their drinking impacts their ability to make good decisions.

Andrea Haynes, the senior probation officer responsible for the programme, said: "Group members are given information about the health implications of heavy drinking, and taught about the recommended weekly drink limits to safeguard their health.

"The key message, though, is that drinking and driving do not mix and the programme encourages participants to realise that a zero alcohol limit is the safest approach if they are going to drive. It is a message that most take on board."

In Sussex, around 70 per cent of drivers sentenced to the programme complete it successfully