Police have arrested more people for drug-driving in the first eight months of 2019 than during the whole of last year in Essex.

In August, 136 people were arrested for the offence, while 116 arrests were made for drink-driving and 32 people were arrested for not providing a sample.

Temporary Chief Inspector Sharn Taylor, head of roads policing, said the continued rise looked concerning but highlighted that officers were better equipped than ever to detect drug-drivers.

"We have more than 600 officers trained to use drug wipes," she added.

"This means if you're drug driving, you're more likely to caught and taken off the road.

"Drugs can stay in your system for a significant amount of time, and even if you don't feel impaired, you could still be over the limit and breaking the law.

"The easiest way of avoiding this is just not to do it in the first place - and our message is to drive safe, drive sober."