The number of alcohol-related driving fatalities in the UK is on the rise, according to estimates from the Department for Transport.

In 2016, 240 people died in incidents involving drivers who had surpassed the legal limit, a year-on-year rise of 40.

The figures equate to a 20 per cent lift in drink-driving road deaths, the biggest increase since the year 2000.

The rise was called 'statistically significant' by the DfT, which cautioned that road traffic death rates were still half what they were in 2005.

In addition, 9,050 people were injured in 2016, up from 8,470 in 2015, an increase of seven per cent.

Again, the DfT highlights the fact that injuries are down 40 per cent on a decade before.

Annually, around one in seven driving casualties involve motorists who are over the limit. Overall, 1,800 were killed on UK roads in 2016.

The figure of 240 was described by the DfT as an estimation, although the department was "95 per cent certain" the real figure lay between 200 and 280 casualties.

While the figures may not be exact, there is a consensus that efforts to reduce fatal accidents are stalling. A more negative reading focuses on the fact that deaths have increased for the first time since 2009, representing the largest annual rise in 17 years.

According to the World Health Organisation, the UK has the fourth-safest roads in the world, based on fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants.