A multi-million pound package of improvements will make Oxfordshire's roads safer next year.

The money, totalling 23m, comes as a result of a bid by the county council for Government cash.

Funding the first year of the authority's five-year local transport plan, it will cover sustainable transport initiatives including cycle paths work to improve known accident blackspots and a whole raft of safety measures.

Most of the cash will be used to bolster safety in one way or another even engineering work or signage put on the roads often has a knock-on casualty reduction benefit.

Phil Crossland, the county council's group manager for road safety, said: "Most of the 23m will go on creating a safer road network for road users. A big proportion of it will directly benefit road safety."

Five schemes are already planned for this financial year.

These include a 90,000 scheme on the A4095 at North Leigh, which saw 12 accidents between 1995 and 1999. Council engineers believe the new scheme could cut the accident rate by 80 per cent.

Other initiatives include six new pedestrian crossings being provided across the county at a cost of 110,000 including Abingdon Road, Drayton, and Bridge Street, Witney and 140,000 earmarked for traffic calming and speed management.