BOLTON has the second most dangerous roads in terms of accidents in Greater Manchester, according to new statistics.

Data from the Department for Transport has revealed that Bolton’s roads saw the highest number of serious injuries in the region, apart from the city of Manchester.

In 2015 there were four deaths, 77 serious injuries and 523 total casualties as a result of road incidents in Bolton.

Conversely, neighbouring Bury has been named as having the safest roads to drive on, with just two deaths and 32 serious injuries last year.

Despite Bolton’s figures, things have improved on the borough’s roads.

In 2014 there were seven deaths, 84 serious injuries and 632 total casualties.

The reduction could partly be because the council is working to reduce both the number of road accidents as well as their outcomes with a range of policies.

The authority is continuing to make all residential areas in the borough 20 mile per hour zones and in this year’s budget it was announced that all the flashing speed warning signs would be replaced — as well as new ones purchased.

Bolton Council’s executive cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Nick Peel said that while progress has been made, there is still a lot of work to do.

He said: “With the increasing roll-out of the 20 mile per hour zones, we know from other authorities that they do generally lead to drivers lowering their speeds.

“We are not saying these incidents are all the fault of drivers, but we want to improve the outcome of any accidents so that less people are seriously injured or killed.

“The statistics show that we are heading in the right direction but we still have a long way to go and we will be continuing to work on educating motorists and pedestrians on this issue.”

Speaking about the statistics, Mike Bristow, corporate fundraising officer from Brake, the road safety charity, said: “It is positive to see that there has been some progress in reducing the number of road deaths and serious injuries in the Greater Manchester area, however there are clearly many drivers not getting the message.

“Drivers have a responsibility to protect themselves and other road users and need to understand that reckless and irresponsible driving can lead to devastation.

“We hope that when the figures for 2016 are released next year, we see a change in driver mentality in Oldham, Bolton and Trafford and see an overall reduction across all districts of Greater Manchester.”

The statistics were collated by Manchester solicitors firm Potter Rees Dolan.