THERE were fewer casualties on East Ayrshire’s roads in 2021 than at the height of the pandemic, new figures show – but the number of deaths more than trebled.

Provisional figures from the Department for Transport indicate there were 103 road casualties in East Ayrshire in 2021 – a drop from 122 in 2020, a year in which large numbers of people stayed at home for long spells due to pandemic lockdowns.

But the seven deaths on East Ayrshire’s roads last year compared to only two in 2020.

Meanwhile, 37 serious injuries were recorded in 2021 – fewer than the year before, when 41 people were badly hurt.

According to the DfT’s figures, overall casualties on the area’s roads last year were more than 30 per cent lower than in 2019.

This week, tens of thousands of children marched for safe streets in the UK in a campaign organised by Brake, a road safety charity.

National figures show 2,261 children were injured and 33 killed on Britain’s streets last year.

Overall, across Great Britain there were 127,967 road casualties in 2021.