Police chiefs yesterday �welcomed a fall in the number of motorists caught drink-�driving in Scotland over the festive period.

Police chiefs yesterday welcomed a fall in the number of motorists caught drink-driving in Scotland over the festive period.

Senior officers were "enthused" that nearly 200 fewer motorists had been arrested for alcohol or drug-related offences than during the 2007-08 campaign.

But they expressed concern over the hundreds of drivers still prepared to put themselves and others at risk by ignoring their warnings.

The four-week Festive Drink-Drugs Driving Road Safety campaign was co-ordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos).

A total of 654 people across the country's eight police force areas were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 2007-08 the figure was 839.

The 2008-09 campaign focused on "morning-after" drink drivers.

Among those snared were a school teacher found to be nearly twice the drink-drive limit after being stopped travelling to work in Lanarkshire.

In Grampian, a 62-year-old woman was arrested on Hogmanay for drinking and driving while disqualified on the A944 in Aberdeenshire.

Police discovered the woman, who was twice over the limit, had appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court that morning where she had been sentenced for a previous drink-driving offence.

Northern Constabulary said a 46-year-old man was found to be more than five times the limit, while in Tayside a 16-year-old youth stopped on his motorbike on New Year's Day was twice over the limit.