TIME ran out for three Huddersfield drink drivers in just six hours.

It shows that people who take a chance and booze before getting behind the wheel will get caught sooner or later.

Or as Huddersfield traffic policeman Pc Darren Dacosta put it: "We only have to be lucky once to catch them. They have to be lucky every time."

A night shift with Pc Dacosta and his partner, Pc Sarah Baker, shows a dogged determination to catch those who put the lives of others at risk.

Cars seen leaving pub cars parks are stopped.

Anyone whose driving arouses the slightest suspicion will also be pulled over.

And police respond quickly to tip-offs about drunken drivers.

Huddersfield police use unmarked cars so they can stake out pubs and roads unseen.

Pc Dacosta and Pc Baker responded instantly on Saturday teatime.

A man was spotted getting into his car after a day's drinking.

The intelligence was spot-on with the make, model, colour and registration number of the car.

They spotted the car in Dalton, pulled it over and breathalysed the driver.

The man in his mid-40s was three times over the limit.

Another traffic car arrested a driver the same evening.

The full enormity of what he'd done hit him in the cells and anger took over. He had to be restrained.

Near to midnight a woman was stopped in Golcar by police responding to reports of a minor accident.

She blew into the breathalyser and it immediately showed she was over the limit.

Three in one night across Huddersfield.

Sadly that kind of tally is not unusual.

In fact it's not rare for one traffic crew to catch three in a shift.

Some of the stories are shocking.

Pc Baker said: "We stopped a car in Gledholt one sunny Sunday afternoon that was bouncing against the kerb as it was going down the hill.

"The driver was eating a kebab in one hand, steering with the other and had three young children and a dog with him.

"He'd been watching football and was well over the limit.

"He got out of the car, staggered and fell over."

Pc Dacosta had an even worse case - a man who blew 163 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

That's four and a half times over the limit - enough booze to kill from alcoholic poisoning.

Pc Dacosta said: "I literally had to carry him out of his car and put him in mine to get him to the police station."

Another he caught was a man arrested the day he was released from prison after serving a sentence for drink driving.

He'd been celebrating his freedom and was so drunk he could not get his Volvo out of first gear.

The pursuit lasted about a mile and reached a top speed of 10mph with sparks flying out of the exhaust as the engine was stretched past its limit.

It ended when the drinker stalled it.

If police stop a vehicle and smell intoxicants on the driver's breath, the breathalyser kit is used.

The officers explain how the breathalyser works.

Some pretend to blow - yet don't.

Others suddenly start to cough, wheeze and mumble they have asthma. But it won't fool Pc Dacosta.

"These machines are designed to work with someone who has asthma - and only one lung," he said.

Arrest means that from that moment the driver's life will change.

Pc Dacosta said: "You can see the full realisation of what they've done dawning on them.

"It means an automatic ban, possibly losing their job, their home and even their family.

"The consequences can be dire.

"One man recently gave a positive roadside test.

"He was absolutely terrified. He'd recently been promoted and just bought a new house with a hefty mortgage. If he lost his licence, his job and his home would have gone and possibly his family too."

The man went through the agony of being arrested and taken to Huddersfield police headquarters.

He was just under the limit.

He kept his job, his home and his family.

It's likely that after a heavy drinking session in the evening, you'll still be over the limit the next morning.

"Leave driving alone for at least 24 hours," said Pc Dacosta.

Police are also keen to catch drivers who have taken drugs.

Anyone who seems under the influence yet passes a breath test will be arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drugs.

They are taken to the cell area and assessed by a doctor.

A blood sample is taken and sent off for analysis.

The driver is normally kept in the cells for up to 10 hours while the substance clears from their system.