Road deaths and serious injuries have soared to a ten-year high in Bradford, mainly because of dangerous driving by reckless young motorists.

The new figures show the toll of people killed on the city's roads rose by 15 per cent to 31 in 2001. And the statistics reveal that many more of the accidents involved drivers aged between 17 and 24.

And as the figures were published today a devastated widower spoke of his family's continued agony - one year after his wife was killed by a young drink driver.

Mr Orlando Rossi's wife Teresa, 44, was killed and her daughter Cristina was injured on April 27 last year when a Vauxhall Cavalier driven by a 17-year-old former soldier ploughed into the back of their car at 60mph at the junction of Rhodesway and Allerton Road in Bradford.

It was later found that the teenager, who had no driving licence, had taken the car from his stepfather after drinking eight cans of strong lager.

He was jailed for five years at Bradford Crown Court last autumn after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and aggravated vehicle taking.

Today Mr Rossi, of Heaton, who owns Orlando's restaurant on Keighley Road, Bradford, said: "Obviously it is my hope that some lad who might be thinking about going out tonight and stealing a car, joyriding or whatever will read this, realise the devastation it can cause on all sides and think 'wait a minute, I shouldn't do that'.

"But the reality is they'll probably be drunk and do it anyway without thinking - everyone gets into their car full of confidence and we all believe it's never going to happen to us until it actually does.

"Nobody deliberately sets out to kill people on the roads but these people just don't understand the devastation they might cause to other people if they have an accident - not just to the victims and their families but to their own families.

"For us things are as bad today as they were a year ago - we're a very close family and Teresa was the main part of all our lives.

"We've got a lot of support but we're all still totally devastated.''

Road safety bosses are also hoping drivers will take note of the alarming figures and drive more responsibly.

The statistics for Bradford mirror those for West Yorkshire where road deaths in 2001 also reached a ten-year high with 140 lives lost.

More people were also seriously hurt in Bradford last year - 294 compared to 273 in 2000 - with many smashes caused by recklessness and bad driving rather than vehicle or road defects - although the total number of road casualties fell to 3,339 from 3,514 in 2000.

Ken Scarlett, Bradford Council's senior road safety officer, said: "While we're pleased to see a reduction in the overall casualty figure it's still very sad to see so many people being hurt.

"Most of these crashes could have been avoided by better driving.

"The terrible consequences of risk taking when driving cannot be underestimated.

"During the last year we've seen 17 to 24-year-old drivers causing more death and injury to other people, both drivers and passengers.''

Campaigner Carole Whittingham, of Rastrick, near Brighouse, who founded the charity Scard (Support and Care After Road Death and Injury) after her son Steven, 27, was killed by a joyrider ten years ago, said: "That more people have died should be a huge concern because it affects everybody and condemns families to a lifetime of bereavement and trauma.

"Driving at speed or when drunk is a criminal offence and should be regarded as such by society."