THE end of the school day is the peak time for road accidents involving children in Yorkshire, according to figures released today.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust has released statistics showing that half of all serious road incidents involving children happen between 3pm and 7pm.

One Bradford councillor who has campaigned for road safety said the figures highlight the importance of campaigns to educate both children and drivers about the potential dangers of the post school rush.

The charity reports that there are much more serious and fatal injuries to school-age pedestrians in the afternoon and early evening than at any other time of day.

In 2013 in Yorkshire and the Humber, there were 270 child deaths or serious injuries between 3pm and 4pm, 225 between 4pm and 5pm, 210 between 5pm and 6pm and 165 between 6pm and 7pm.

The findings mark the beginning of Child Safety Week, and the charity has called for parents to practice road safety with their children on the walk home from school.

Councillor Naveeda Ikram (Labour), a former Bradford Lord Mayor and councillor for Little Horton, said both the council and police had stepped up safety campaigns in schools in recent years, both with education sessions for children and police patrols outside schools on busy roads.

Cllr Ikram said: "We want to work with schools, parents and police to make sure we continue to raise awareness. The good news is we have not had any fatal accidents in the past few years, which shows we are taking this very seriously.

"There have been speed checks, police are using video vans on busy roads near schools and we are taking action after schools to deal with any dangerous drivers. I'm open to talks with anyone who has further concerns about road safety."

Last year the number of people fined for dangerous parking outside schools rose from 137 to over 400 due to increased council and police patrols outside schools. The council says the extra focus has worked, as there was a 12.5 per cent fall in the number of children killed or seriously injured on the district's roads last year compared to 2013.

However, road safety charity Brake, believes lower speed limits are the best way to reduce casualties.

James McLoughlin, spokesperson for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “It is shocking that so many children are being killed or seriously injured on our region’s roads. We need meaningful, sustained, long-term action to create safer streets for our children. We are appealing to drivers to do their bit by going 20mph in communities to protect children, and to the government to change the urban default speed limit to 20mph.”