Oxfordshire had the largest reduction in road casualties according to new data.

The figures, released by road safety charity Brake, show a 22.4 per cent decrease in the number of people killed or seriously injured in the county.

This equates to a drop from 372 in 2022 to 289 in 2023.

This comes as part of a wider 3.1 per cent decrease in road casualties across the South East region.

Despite this, Brake has highlighted that road deaths and serious injuries have shown no significant signs of reduction for more than five years.

In 2023, 1,695 people died on UK roads, with a further 28,967 seriously injured.

Brake has now revealed that, over the same period, the charity’s National Road Victim Service provided specialist emotional and practical support to more than 1,500 families across the UK, helping them cope with their grief and navigate the complex procedures that often follow a road crash, including more than 172 in the South East, with numbers already set to be even higher in 2024.

At any point in time, around 700 road victim families are receiving support from Brake, including parents, grandparents, siblings, friends and people who have witnessed a traumatic incident.

Many of the families supported have been involved in multi-fatality crashes, and around seven per cent of support cases involve the death of a child.

Around 12 per cent of support cases involve someone who is considered high risk or vulnerable.

Ross Moorlock, chief executive at Brake, said: "Road casualties are not just statistics.

"Behind every number is a grief-stricken family whose lives have been changed forever in an instant.

"The demand on our service continues to grow as road deaths and injuries show no sign of reducing.

"Every year, more families suffer the devastating impact of a road crash.

"Every year, more and more families come to us in their darkest and most difficult times."

Brake is launching a new Road Victims’ Charter, demanding essential actions to ensure all those affected by road crashes receive the respect, support, and justice they deserve.

The charity is calling for the Government to establish national standards in post-crash response and commit to extending the rights set out in the Victims' Code to those impacted by road harm.

The Road Victims’ Charter has been written in collaboration with bereaved families, trauma consultants, support staff and professionals from across the criminal justice and medical sectors.

It was launched at a drop-in event for MPs in Westminster on November 18.