The highest number of road deaths in London last year happened in Barnet, Transport for London figures show.

In 2010, nine people died and 1,520 injured on the borough’s road network, a rise of 8% on the previous year.

Barnet Council said despite meeting targets to reduce numbers of road deaths the area has more roads than other parts of London.

Overall however, road fatalities decreased by 28% in inner London to 51 and by 34% in outer London.

The TfL figures for Barnet compare with the City of London, where 380 people were injured on the roads in 2010, and 427 injuries in Kingston.

There was only one death in each of the boroughs.

‘Significant impact’

A Barnet Council spokesman said: “Obviously, one death is one too many, however, for a borough which has one of the largest road networks (double Westminster) and the largest population in London, it is inevitable that we will be towards the top of the list.

“Barnet also has several major TfL arterial roads running through the borough which have a significant impact on accident figures.”

He said that more than a quarter of all the borough’s serious or fatal casualties happened on these roads.

Overall, outer London saw a 4% increase in casualties, up to 16,507 for the 12 months, and inner London, a 2% increase.

Cyclist casualties showed a 9% increase in both inner and outer London