THE number of cyclists seriously hurt in crashes on the roads in York has doubled in the past ten years, council figures show.

A record 24 cyclists were left with serious injuries last year, and although no cyclists were killed on the roads three of those badly hurt were children.

City of York Council’s road safety team has prepared a report on its work, for council transport boss Ian Gillies – with data on road safety figures compared to the rest of Yorkshire, and information about road safety work such as cycle training school crossing patrols.

The papers show that while the number of people cycling in York has grown, so too has the number of people badly hurt in crashes.

National statistics show that York has the third highest levels of cycling of any city in England, behind only Cambridge and Oxford. The latest figures suggest a 20 per cent increase in the volume of bike journeys in York.

But at the same time, cyclists accounted for nearly a third of everyone either injured in road accidents in 2015 – 141 with slight injuries and 24 with serious injuries.

“Unfortunately the only statistically significant increase in casualty statistics in York in recent years has been an increase in cycling casualties,” said the report, by road safety officer Trish Hirst.

And while the number killed or seriously injured on the roads in York has fallen since 2005 – from 101 to 74 – the number of cyclists included within those figures has risen from 11 to 24.