WOMEN drivers in East Lancashire are warned to be aware that they could be over the drink-drive limit the morning after they have been drinking.

It comes as research found one in six women had admitted to drink-driving in the past year, with the percentage of women convicted of the offence doubling in six years.

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A survey by car insurance firm Direct Line and Rees Jeffreys Road Fund found 17 per cent of female motorists believed they may have driven while over the limit in the past year.

The study revealed a lack of awareness among women drivers about the amount of alcohol that can legally be consumed before taking to the road.

Overall, more than half said they did not know the legal limit, while others felt they were personally able to drink more alcohol than the ‘average woman’ before they themselves were over the limit.

Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle said drink-driving was ‘just irresponsible’.

He said: “These are shocking figures. Anyone driving a car while under the influence of drink puts not just their own life in danger but others as well, and it shouldn’t happen.

“Normally, when there is a crash the person who has been drinking survives because they are relaxed and it is the other person who ends up dead.

“I think the court needs to be more severe with its punishments. If drivers are seriously over the limit they should be looking at jail sentences.”

Blackburn MP Jack Straw said: “My guess is that it is the flip side of a much greater independence and autonomy for women, which has been welcomed.

“Now we get more women going out by themselves and with other woman friends, which increases the risk of them drink-driving. The other thing is that people sometimes say women have a greater chance of getting away with drink-driving and this certainly goes a way to dispelling that myth.”

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “Motorists, including women, do need to be aware that they can still be over the limit the morning after if they have been drinking the night before.

“We will continue to target those people who behave irresponsibly, risk lives and break the law.”