MORE than 40 people were arrested in alcohol-related incidents in just one week, eight after giving positive drink-drive breath tests.

Eight drivers in north and west Wiltshire were caught behind the wheel after drinking in the week from July 3 as police continue to crackdown on drunkenness as part of Operation XS.

Wiltshire Police launched the campaign to coincide with the football World Cup in Germany and the final week of the competition was the worst when it came to alcohol-related arrests, with 97 across the county.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Vaughan said: "Let us hope this will be the end of the high level of alcohol-related crime incidents. I think people have used this as an excuse to become aggressive, violent and to get totally drunk. Excessive alcohol consumed is the cause of 165 incidents and 97 arrests this week."

The 45 arrests in C Division include a 44-year-old man stopped on the A350 near Lacock while behind the wheel of a Ford Transit towing a caravan. He was charged with drink driving and bailed to appear before magistrates in Chippenham on July 27.

In Chippenham two young men were stopped on the same stretch of road within a day of each other. In the first incident a 19-year-old from Devizes was arrested after being stopped in Hungerdown Lane at 1am on Thursday.

The next day, at 2am, another 19-year-old, from Corsham, also provided a positive breath test after also being stopped in Hungerdown Lane. Both men were charged with drink driving and bailed to appear before magistrates in Chippenham on July 20.

Also in Chippenham a 20-year-old man was arrested following an accident in Bath Road at 3am on Sunday. He was charged with drink driving and bailed to appear at Chippenham magistrates' court on July 27.

Since the launch of Operation XS at the beginning of the World Cup there have been almost 400 arrests for alcohol-related disorder. A report released this week by the independent Information Centre for Health and Social Care shows over the past 10 years admissions to hospital for alcoholic liver disease have risen by 21,000.