People will be warned about the dangers of drink-driving over the Christmas period during an open-air performance in Chatham High Street this week.

Medway Council’s safer journeys team is trying to dispel the myth that one alcoholic drink is acceptable when driving, so they have given the popular festive song The Twelve Days of Christmas a road safety theme. A choir will be performing the song at 4pm on Thursday near the entrance to the Pentagon Shopping Centre.

This will be followed by a staged re-enactment by Kent Fire and Rescue at 8pm. Firefighters will showing the very real consequences of mixing alcohol and driving, as they rescue two people from a car.

Cllr Phil Filmer, Medway Council’s portfolio holder for frontline services, said: “We are all very aware that drinking and driving is dangerous and illegal, however many people think that one drink is OK. But in reality that one drink will still have an effect on your reactions. The best bet is to leave the car keys at home.”

Stuart Skilton, Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s head of community safety, said there are around 10 times more deaths on the roads compared with fires.

He added: “It’s our firefighters who have to cut these drivers and their passengers free, so when they are badly hurt or killed, our crews see much more than just a statistic. We would urge all motorists to drive carefully.”