THE number of pedestrians killed or seriously hurt in collisions on Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire roads has risen sharply, new figures have revealed.

Across the two parliamentary constituencies of Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South, a total of 365 pedestrians were either killed or seriously injured in accidents last year.

This is an increase of 13 per cent from the 2015 figure, according to statistics released by the Department for Transport.

In East Renfrewshire, 119 pedestrians were seriously or “slightly” injured in road collisions in 2016 – a rise of almost two per cent from the previous year.

The latest figures also show that a total of 448 pedestrians were killed on the UK’s roads last year – up by 10 per cent from 2015.

A further 23,102 pedestrians were seriously or slightly injured.

Jenni Wiggle, local impact director for UK charity Living Streets, said more needs to be done to improve safety.

She added: “For too long now, our towns and cities have been built around the needs of vehicles and not of people.

“The detrimental effects are evident in these shocking and disturbing figures.

“We need to prioritise the safety of pedestrians to make sure everybody feels comfortable walking and can get out to enjoy their streets.

“The government must invest in walking to help save precious lives.

“Crossings, 20mph limits and pedestrian zones are all ways to do this which will ensure these numbers do not continue to rise.”

Of the 365 pedestrians included in the 2016 figures for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South, three lost their lives, 50 were seriously injured and 312 were slightly injured.

In East Renfrewshire, 17 were seriously injured and 102 suffered slight injuries.

The number of all people killed on the UK’s roads last year rose by four per cent to the highest level since 2011.

There were 1,792 reported road deaths in 2016, compared to 1,730 the previous year.