Drivers could face being subject to random breath-testing as part of a new national crackdown on drink-driving.

According to the Daily Telegraph, ministers are convinced tougher enforcement is the key to reducing the number of alcohol-related road deaths.

The newspaper claims plans for random breath testing will be contained in a Department for Transport consultation document due out "within weeks".

A spokeswoman for the DfT admitted today the department was in the process of drawing up a consultation document on drink-driving, although she stressed that the exact measures it would contain had "not been finalised as yet".

But the Telegraph claims the proposals will allow senior police officers to set up roadside checkpoints for up to 24 hours, anywhere where there was a "reasonable belief" that drink or drug-driving was likely.

At the moment, police can carry out a breath test only if a motorist has been driving erratically, or if they have been involved in an accident or have committed some other motoring offence such as speeding.

Random breath-testing is thought to be back on the agenda partly because of the success of the recent Christmas drink-drive blitz.

Nationally, while the number of breath tests carried out rose, the number of drivers who failed tests fell.

That has led ministers to believe that the threat of increased breath-tests acted as a deterrent.