THE creation of a road safety champion in Gloucestershire has been called for in a bid to reduce the “alarming” number of accidents on the county’s roads.

Figures for last year show that 207 people were killed or seriously injured in road collisions – up on the county council’s target of 141.

The issue was raised at yesterday’s meeting of the council’s cabinet by the leader of the county’s Liberal Democrat group Cllr Paul Hodgkinson (Bourton and Northleach).

Quizzing the cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure Cllr Nigel Moor (Con, Stow-on-the-Wold), Cllr Hodgkinson asked what was being done to reduce the number of incidents on roads across Gloucestershire.

In response, Cllr Moor outlined several measures aimed at tackling the issue, including work with the Road Safety Partnership.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Hodgkinson (Bourton & Northleach) called for a councillor to be appointed as a road safety champion.

He said: “Any road accident is certainly one too many and although I am pleased that over the last ten years casualties on our county’s roads have reduced, the county council target has nevertheless been consistently missed in the last three years.

“I have therefore today called for a road safety champion who will work with the council’s road safety team focusing specifically on this alarming trend and ultimately to save lives.

“This champion would be a county councillor who would really tackle this problem and provide a focal point for reducing accidents.

“We hope our request is reasonable and that whoever runs the administration after May’s elections will seriously consider the creation of this new role to promote road safety and make a decision on this as soon as possible.”

Elections for Gloucestershire County Council take place on May 4.