NEARLY half of the drivers checked failed a drug wipe test during Hampshire Constabulary’s Operation Holly festive crackdown.

Of 139 tested from December 1 to January 1 there were 67 positive results (48.2 per cent). Less than eight per cent of failures were 50 or above.

Out of 1,033 breath tests there were just 22 failures (2.13 per cent), with 68 per cent of them aged 25 to 49.

But out of 288 people arrested, 168 of them were for drink-driving.

A spokesperson said: “A breathalyser test is not the only option available to officers and it will depend on the circumstances.”