Video: Man knocks out friend to stop him from drinking and driving

'I love you...I'm sorry,' friend pleads

A video has gone viral that sees a man decide he would rather punch his best friend than let him drive home after a night of drinking.

"I love you, listen, I love you," the man says as he incapacitates his friend. "I promise you when you see this brother I swear I love you - this is not no other sh*t. Please, please. I'm sorry, I swear to god I am."

Racking up hundreds of thousands of views, the video has divided people in the frankly always polarised YouTube comments section, with one user writing: "Great, great friend," as another countered: "Awful friend, severely low display of intelligence."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to take his keys?" a third mused.

Drink drive deaths in the UK rose by 26% in 2012 to 290, while 6,680 road accidents were linked with alcohol consumption in the same period.

Violence is of course not advisable when it comes to combating drink driving, with the Department of Transport's Think! Campaign saying that care must be taken in planning not to drive if drinking is a possibility during a trip.

"If you're planning to drink alcohol, plan how to get home without driving, it's official website advises. "Options include agreeing on a designated driver, saving a taxi number to your phone, or finding out about public transport routes and times before you go out.

"Don't offer an alcoholic drink to someone you know is planning to drive," it adds.

"Even if you're not driving, you can help reduce the number of people who are killed and injured every year by drink driving."