Six out of 10 motorists oppose changes to drink-driving laws a year after Scotland lowered its limit to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, according to a new survey.

The current limit for the remainder of the UK is 80mg, and the poll, carried out for SmartWitness, found that 62% of drivers do not support an extension of Scotland's new limit for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) said the new measures would harm the already struggling pub trade, and fewer than half those polled (43%) thought the proposed restrictions would make our roads safer.

Three-quarters of drivers (74%) felt further changes may unfairly affect drivers travelling to work the morning after a night's drinking, and 68% said a new clampdown would be detrimental to the quality of life in rural areas where public transport is often limited.

The UK Government has said that at present it has no plans to adopt the Scottish measures because it would have no impact on 'high-risk offenders'.

Paul Singh, chief executive of SmartWitness, said: "This new research shows that there is no desire to extend the Scottish drink-driving clampdown to the rest of the UK.

"Drink-driving offences have been falling steadily since 1979 and there has been a huge reduction in drink-driving accidents in the same period - down from 20,000 a year to around 6,000.

"The police have done a great job in enforcing the drink-drive laws, particularly at Christmas time, and hammering the message that drink driving is totally unacceptable behaviour."