HIGHWAYS England have bosses have spoken out to reassure drivers that British bridges are safe after 38 people were killed in a collapse in Genoa, Italy.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors of the crash, which happened on Tuesday, with authorities believing that between 10 and 20 people could be trapped in the rubble.

British chief highways engineer Mike Wilson has spoken out, offering his "deepest sympathies" to everyone involved in the tragedy but assuring people that safety "is and will always be our top priority".

There are around 21,000 bridge structures on Britain's network of motorways and A roads, although none are similar in design to the one in Italy.

Mr Wilson said: “We have detailed design standards and quality control processes to ensure bridges are designed and constructed to provide safe and comfortable journeys for road users. This is supported by a thorough and regular regime for inspecting all structures, including bridges, on England’s motorways and major “A” roads and taking any necessary action to help ensure they stay safe.

“A very small proportion of our structures are suspension or cable stayed bridges but none of them are of similar construction to the one in Genoa.

“We’re committed to continually improving our network to make every journey the safest it can be. So when the causes of the Genoa bridge collapse have been investigated and reported, we will carefully assess any lessons to be learnt and will bring in any required changes to standards and processes.”