THE number one cause of car crashes on Cumbria’s roads has been revealed.

Failing to look properly caused the most collisions – accounting for nearly a quarter of all incidents over the last five years, new figures show.

The second biggest cause was “failing to judge” someone’s path or speed, according to data obtained from Cumbria Police.

That accounted for around 18.4 per cent of all crashes, the figures show.

Roads made slippery because of the weather, poor turns or manoeuvres, carelessness, recklessness and being in a hurry made up the rest of the top five.

In the last five years, there have been nearly 1,300 road traffic collisions in the county. It amounts to 260 every year on average.

In the last five years, 27 people have been killed and 234 seriously injured.

Nearly half of all collisions – 47 per cent – happen between noon and 6pm, the figures show.

Figures from Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service show that in the last year,  82 road awareness courses were carried out for young drivers aged 18 to 25.

Statistics also show that the average number of flooding and water incidents in Cumbria every year is now 186.

In the last five years, a total of 928 incidents were recorded, but 468 of these followed the 2015-16 Cumbria floods and Storm Desmond in December 2015.

The top five wards affected by flooding in Cumbria are Ambleside and Grasmere; Keswick; Castle Ward in Carlisle; the Harbour ward in Whitehaven, and St Aidan’s, Carlisle, the figures show.

In that time, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service has had to evacuate people from water, rescue people, make electrics safe, and pump out water.

But Cumbria faces a growing risk from wildfires after 2018’s hot summer.

A report said: “The frequency and intensity of wildfires are likely to increase given the predictions for climate change in the UK. This is confirmed by an upwards trend in recent years and more frequent spells of intense wildfire activity as in 2018.

“The increase in leisure use of open access land for tourism has increased the risk of wildlife as the vast majority are started by people accidentally or maliciously. Given the importance of the landscape to Cumbria, any wildfire can potentially have a significant impact on tourism and the local economy.”