Women drink-driving on the increase

• 60% rise in convictions in 10 years
• Women account for 12% of convictions
• Paris Hilton blamed as poor example

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The number of women convicted of drink-driving has risen by 60% over the past decade.

Women now account for 12% of all drink- and drug-driving convictions, compared with 7% 10 years ago.

In contrast, the number of men convicted fell by 3% in the same period.

Although an increasing number of women hold driving licences, this doesn't account for the rise. As a result, motoring groups are calling for anti-drink-driving campaigns to target women.

'More and more women are drinking pints, and more women are behaving like men, even behind the wheel,' said Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA.

Famous women such as Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, who have both been convicted of drink-driving in America, were blamed for setting a bad example.

Department for Transport figures also show that the number of women who failed breath tests after road accidents and injuries across Britain increased by almost 20% between 1995 and 2005.