EMERGENCY services leaders have pledged to press on with road safety initiatives after joining the family and friends of road traffic victims at a special service.

The annual Oak Leaf service, which was held at Ripon Cathedral, remembered those who have died or been seriously injured on roads in the county over the past year, saw emergency service personnel and agencies who work to reduce road deaths thanked.

The service came as North Yorkshire Police ended a week-long road safety operation to target drivers using mobile phones while driving.

According to statistics released by North Yorkshire County Council’s 95 Alive road safety campaign group, 31 people were killed in road collisions in 2015 and there were 40 fatalities the year before.

Speaking about the importance of the service, Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick said: “The service is a poignant moment where those services who work towards a common goal of reducing tragedy on our roads, join together with the friends and family of victims, to pause and reflect on the events of the year and renew our continued determination to ensure the numbers of families touched by the tragedy of road traffic collisions is reduced even further in the coming year.”

The Rev Canon Barry Pyke said it had been “an immense privilege” for Ripon Cathedral to enable”a community bound together through the shared experience of loss to remember loved ones” to gather.

He said: “It was a truly poignant and moving event where great courage was shown by so many in such difficult circumstances. The stories we heard from both the victims of traffic accidents and the emergency services were moving and inspirational.”