The number of people 'Killed or Seriously Injured' (KSIs) on the area's roads increased around 68 per cent last year, according to data.

The data, from a 'Corporate Dashboard' published by Bolton Council, showed there were more than 100 KSIs reported in the 12 months up to May last year, up from 60 KSIs reported in the 12 months previous.

Some of this rise is attributable to the end of coronavirus restrictions, as traffic returned to pre-pandemic levels over this period.

But more than 100 KSIs is a rise on the four years before coronavirus restrictions, when the average was around 82 KSIs a year.

Nick Peel, the leader of the Labour Group, raised the increase with the cabinet of Bolton Council when it met at the town hall on February 8 and suggested it could be caused by 'the loss of a lot of police officers'.

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Cllr Peel said: "I'd guess a factor is the fact we no longer have police on our roads because of the loss of a lot of police officers."

Jon Dyson, Director of Place, was not drawn on this issue and was instead interested in the usefulness of the figures themselves.

Mr Dyson said: "I have a concern in relation to this particular Performance Indicator in as much as I think it is something we can't control. To set a target we can't control, we have to challenge this. 

"Historically, I'm aware this is a Performance Indicator that's been reported on by this council for a period of time, but I think it's incumbent on me to challenge whether or not they're the right PIs."

Asked by The Bolton News, Greater Manchester Police did not respond to suggestions of a link between a rise in KSIs and 'the loss of a lot of police officers'.

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But a spokesperson said the rise came at the same time as the adoption of a system called Collision Recording and Sharing (CRASH), which saw some injuries once categorised as 'slight' now categorised as 'serious'.

According to a government website, CRASH is an injury based reporting system in which police officers report the most significant of all the injuries and their severity is determined automatically.

This is in contrast to a non-injury based reporting system in which their severity is determined directly by police officers based on all the injuries as a whole.

In spite of the impact on the data in the short-term, CRASH is seen as a lot more accurate in the long-term.