Policing of roads in the district is now more effective, despite a decrease in the number of officers, the West Yorkshire force argued today .

West Yorkshire-based road charity Brake has claimed cuts in roads policing officers nationally is putting the public at risk.

The charity says the number of traffic officers across the UK has been slashed by more than 11 per cent in five years – six times greater than cuts to overall police numbers.

Brake is calling on the Government to make it a policing priority to stop cuts.

The charity’s deputy chief executive Julie Townsend said: “This is crucial in safeguarding the public and preventing needless casualties that lead to terrible suffering, and it makes economic sense.

“Investing in roads policing, and stepping up critical checks like breath-testing, helps stop crashes before they happen, meaning less families suffering and reduced costs to the taxpayer.”

Figures released by West Yorkshire Police show it had 296 roads policing officers at the end of the last financial year, down by 19 on the previous year and by 27 over the five-year period.

A force spokesman said: “West Yorkshire Police takes the policing of the county’s roads very seriously.

“Although there has been a very slight decrease in the number of traffic officers working for the Force compared with 2007 to 2011, a Regional Roads Policing Team was introduced in 2008.

“Following the success of that, the Force launched a new and more effective roads policing structure in 2011 to support our neighbourhood teams across West Yorkshire. The new structure has three main hubs – the southern, eastern and western hubs, as well as the Roads Crime Team and the Major Collision and Enquiry Team (MCET)."