Police have launched a summer crackdown on those driving under the influence of drink or drugs, with the month-long campaign the first with new drug-testing kits in place to detect cannabis and cocaine.

The campaign has been mounted by the National Police Chiefs' Council (formerly the Association of Chief Police Officers).

Launching the campaign today, the NPCC's roads policing head, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, said: "We shall be better equipped than ever this summer and we will be ready for action to keep the road network safe, whether it be at night or the morning after.

"We are also particularly interested in getting our message out to younger drivers who may be tempted to think that they remain able to stay in control. Our evidence shows they are more likely to take unnecessary risks."

In the 2014 summer drink-drive campaign, 63,688 breath tests were administered, leading to 4,108 refusing, failing or testing positive (a 6.45% rate).

Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive of road safety charity Brake, said: : "We believe drink-driving is becoming more and more socially unacceptable in the UK, further aided by the lowering of the limit in Scotland at the end of last year.

"The new drug-drive law introduced in March was also an important step in catching risky impaired drivers. However, there is a long way to go to stamp out this menace completely."