POWYS had a higher number of motorcycle casualties than anywhere else in Wales in 2017, new figures reveal.

The statistics come as the 'Road accidents and casualties' report released by Welsh Government shows that nationwide there was a 9.6 per cent fall in reported casualties on Welsh roads in 2017.

There were 595 motorcycle casualties on Welsh roads during 17, 65 of those coming in the Dyfed-Powys area ahead of next-nearest Cardiff, which saw just over 50 serious incidents.

Casualties were most common on Sundays, with 21 per cent of all casualties. There was relatively little difference between the other days of the week though the lowest number occurred on Tuesdays at 11 per cent.

The lowest numbers of motorcycle accidents were recorded in Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Isle of Anglesey.

Overall, the report showed improving standards of safety for pedestrians and cyclists, alongside an overall reduction in road traffic accidents nationwide.

However young people are disproportionally likely to be casualties in road accidents, making up 11% of the population but 22% of all casualties.

Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters said:

“As our highways become busier, we have to be aware that simply by law of averages, there will be more opportunities for accidents.

“When we published our Road Safety Framework in 2013, we set ourselves challenging targets to improve safety for road users.

“As these statistics show, we are making progress to reduce the number of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads, with the greatest reductions seen in the number of young people involved.

“However, they also highlight a disproportionate risk to pedestrians and cyclists. While we have made progress, we need to do more to make our roads safer for vulnerable users, so walking and cycling are normalised.

“We continue to support our partners to deliver the targets and actions set out in the Road Safety Framework and we will be announcing shortly which local authority schemes we will be supporting with £4m of road safety capital grant funding and £1.9m of road safety revenue funding in 2019/20.

“Our Safe Routes to Schools funding, which will provide £5 million for 2019/20, alongside the Active Travel grants, supports schemes that help to deliver increased levels of active travel among children travelling to school and in the wider community.”