AN ambulance driver was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving minutes before he was due to start night shift.

AN ambulance driver was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving minutes before he was due to start night shift.

Police traffic officers swooped on the 38-year-old 10 minutes before he was to begin work after being alerted by his colleagues.

The man was held on December 27 on suspicion of being over the legal drink-driving limit close to the Scottish Ambulance Service depot in Kilsyth Road, Kirkintilloch.

It is understood he failed a breathalyser test and was taken to Kirkintilloch Police Station where a blood test was carried out.

Sources close to the worker, understood to be an ambulance technician, a junior role among paramedics, claimed he had received the results of the blood tests last night and they were negative.

However, the worker could still face disciplinary action, or even dismissal.

The incident emerged as police in Strathclyde revealed those arrested during the festive drink drive crackdown has fallen by nearly a third this year.

The force said it had made 280 arrests during its four-week campaign, which started on December 8, but were unable to give figures of how many people were tested.

The number of arrests compares to a total of 394 for the previous year.

In the final week of the road safety campaign 52 people - 48 men and four women - were arrested for being under the influence of drink or drugs in Strathclyde.

Nationwide nearly 200 fewer motorists have been arrested for drink or drugs driving offences than during last year's campaign with 654 drivers still flouting the law - and this year there appears to be a growing trend of young drivers taking risks.

A 26-year-old man was arrested last Tuesday after he was stopped on the A725 East Kilbride Expressway.

He failed a roadside breath test and was found to be three times the drink drive limit.

It was later discovered he was disqualified from driving.

And in the early hours of New Year's Day, officers pursued a vehicle from Castle Road, Ardrossan to Brisbane Glen Road, Largs, where it careered out of control and ended up in ditch. The 21-year-old male driver was arrested and found to be two-and-a-half times the drink drive limit.

In Ayr a 21-year-old male driver failed a roadside breath test after being stopped by police for speeding. He was arrested and found to be more than double the drink drive limit. The driver was also found to have no insurance or tax for the vehicle.

Superintendent Niven Rennie, head of Strathclyde Police's road policing department, said: "The reduction in the number of people arrested is to be welcomed.

"I believe our high visibility patrols and high-profile road checks have resulted in the public being more aware of the consequences of drink/drug driving."

In Aberdeenshire, a 62-year-old woman arrested on December 31 for drink-driving and driving while disqualified had appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court that morning where she had been sentenced for a previous drink driving case.