New stats show that while drink driving-related deaths and casualties marginally declined in the pandemic, dozens of people in Oldham were still affected by the offence.

Statistics by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reveal 24 people were killed or injured in a crash in Oldham where a drink driver was involved between 2018 and 2020.

This includes incidents where the driver failed a breathalyser test or refused to take one, and meant drink driving incidents accounted for 2.1 per cent of all road casualties in the borough during this time.

However, the figure is a welcome decline from the 45 who were killed or seriously injured as a result of a drink driver between 2017 and 2019.

The national picture also appears to show a decline in drink driving-related deaths and injuries.

Across the country, 14,018 people were killed or injured in a collision where drink driving was involved between 2018 – 2010, accounting for 3.6 per cent of the total number of casualties on the roads but a marked decrease from the 15,133 casualties between 2017 and 2019.

However, it is possible lockdown measures meant fewer people were on the roads and were less likely to drink and drive during this time.

Meanwhile, separate figures by the Department for Transport for the North West, which does not include local authority data, show around 30 people died in drink driving incidents in 2020 – an increase by 10 from the year before.

The Campaign Against Drink Driving group said that the 14,000 casualty figure for England shows there are “many people who need to be educated about the perils of drink and drug driving".

John Scruby, trustee of the Campaign Against Drink Driving and a former police officer who spent more than four decades trying to prevent the offence, said the fall in casualty numbers is welcome news but more remains to be done.

Mr Scruby said: “Education is the key factor to prevent drink and drug driving.”

Yet another problem is the fall in the number of dedicated road policing officers in the last 10 years which means enforcement is limited.

The Home Office said it is putting more police on the roads and the streets to try to keep local communities safe.

A government spokesperson added: "More than 13,500 additional officers have already been recruited across England and Wales and we are on track to deliver our commitment to recruit 20,000, however the deployment of officers is an operational decision for Chief Constables."