Telford and Wrekin roads among the safest in Britain

Roads in Telford and Wrekin are among the safest in Britain, government figures reveal today.

The Road Safety Report compared the average number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads in 1994-98 with those in 2006-10.

And it showed that the number of deaths in Telford during that period had decreased by 65 per cent – just five per cent less than the top ranked area Halton in Cheshire.

Shropshire also did well in the report, finishing sixth in the table.

Councillor Hilda Rhodes, cabinet member for transport and community protection, said: "Telford & Wrekin Council takes road safety as a priority even in these difficult times.

"These figures demonstrate that Telford & Wrekin Council's approach to targeting limited funding towards schemes and initiatives that deliver the greatest potential in reducing accidents is creating a safer environment for residents and visitors to the borough."

The report, published by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, notes how ministers aim to name and shame the worst offenders by publishing online casualty data from each local authority. The worst performer was Doncaster which failed to reduce the number of killed and seriously injured, followed by Bournemouth.

The report said: "The Government should explain how it intends to measure which are the worst performing local authorities and how it expects naming and shaming them will improve their performance."

The report comes out in the same week it was announced that road fatalities in the country have risen for the first time since 2003, with 1,901 people killed on the roads last year.

It was also revealed road deaths are the main cause of death for 16 to 24-year-olds.