New figures from the Department for Transport show that last year, across the majority of the county, there were more people injured in road accidents than there were during the lockdown year of 2020.

The numbers of deaths caused by incidents on the roads is also increasing in most places.

However, there are still fewer deaths and injuries than there were recorded in 2019.

One of the sharpest increases has been in Leeds, where 2021 saw 1,796 injuries on the city’s roads compared to 1,262 in 2020, but still fewer than the 1,908 recorded for 2019.

Road deaths almost doubled, with 21 in 2021 and 11 in 2020.

Bradford saw more than 400 extra cases compared to 2020, with 1,457 injuries last year and 924 the year before as 12 people died on the city’s roads in 2021 and eight in 2020.

Barnsley had 483 road injuries in 2021, 443 in 2020 and 556 in 2019. However, there were fewer fatalities in 2021 with five, compared to nine the year before.

North Yorkshire as a whole had fewer deaths last year, with 34 fatalities and 36 during the first lockdown year.

The region also had an increase in injuries, with 1,382 in 2021, 1,223 in 2020 and a higher number in 2019 at 1,462.

Bucking the trend was Sheffield and Hull, where there were fewer road-related injuries last year compared to the year before.

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In Sheffield, the Department of Transport recorded 956 injuries for 2021 and 970 for 2020. Both years are lower than 2019 when there were 1,191. But both Sheffield and Hull saw higher road deaths, with 13 in the South Yorkshire city last year and eight the year before.

In Hull, there were nine deaths last year and eight in 2020.

There were 687 injuries though for 2021 and 695 in 2020, making both years lower than the 936 in 2019.

Last week tens of thousands of children marched for safe streets in the UK in a campaign organised by road-safety charity Brake.

National figures show 2,261 children were injured and 33 killed on Britain’s streets last year.

Scott Williams, head of programme delivery at Brake, said every child should have the right to walk in their neighbourhood without fear of traffic or pollution.

“It is vital that children can walk safely in the places where they live,” he added.

Overall, across Great Britain there were 127,967 road casualties in 2021 – an 11 per cent rise on the year before – while 1,560 people were killed.

Of those who died, 686 were car users but 363 pedestrians and 299 motorcyclists were also killed.

The number of pedal cyclists who lost their lives dropped by 20 per cent, from 141 in 2020 to 113 last year.

Commenting on the Department for Transport figures, Mark Turner, chief executive of the Road Victims Trust, said: “It remains a terrible fact that four people will be killed on the roads of the UK each day, with many more suffering life-changing injuries.

“The devastation and trauma caused by these collisions is immense and it is disturbing to see a climb in the numbers of people affected.”

The RAC said the Government must do more to improve road safety.

Road casualties climb in many parts of Yorkshire after lockdown lull