New figures revealing there are more crashes in Kent than any other county should act as a “wake-up call” to highways bosses.

That is the view of drivers and councillors concerned about road safety - with some now arguing for a blanket 20mph limit across all towns.

It comes as statistics from the Department for Transport show that Kent, excluding Medway, had 3,457 crashes in 2022 – which works out at almost 10 every day.

Second was Surrey, with 674 fewer collisions.

Among those now calling for Kent’s roads to be made safer is Keena Entwhistle, whose son Ethan died in a crash in October, two days before his 19th birthday.

The 46-year-old told KentOnline: “Neither I nor Ethan did anything wrong, but I have been left with a life sentence of this pain, and I do not want anyone else to ever feel this way.

“I think all roads in towns, and especially by schools, should be 20 miles an hour.

“On Dumpton Park Drive where Ethan's accident happened, you've got a primary school, a special needs school, and a residential home for the elderly.

“It is a 30mph road, but they go along there at an awful speed.”

Ms Entwhistle doesn’t want any other parents to go through the same heartbreak.

She has started a petition to get more traffic calming measures installed on Dumpton Park Drive.

She said: “Kent County Council (KCC) has put some bollards up by the tree where the driver crashed, and they have put a bend sign up and a slow sign on the road.

“But they need more right the way through to slow traffic down.”

She added: “I want it to be a safer road, but I want that for every road.

“I'm not just doing the petition to support that one place.

“I want people to be aware that every road needs to be made safer.

“​​If we can stop anybody else from feeling this then I know that we've achieved something.”

County councillor Karen Constantine (Lab) says she is not surprised the crash figures, compiled by car financing agency Moneybarn, reveal Kent has the highest number.

The Ramsgate representative said: “My residents are extremely concerned about road safety, with justification.

“We have seen several deaths on local roads.

“I and others have asked for traffic calming measures - only to be told that these will not be forthcoming.”

She argues the council - which oversees much of the road network, excluding motorways and some A-roads - has wasted money on projects such as the £44 million Thanet Parkway railway station.

She says this “shows how tone-deaf KCC is to residents’ calls for improved road safety”.

People living in Dane Valley Road, Margate, are among those who have called for a 20mph limit in their street – after one resident had three cars written off in three years.

But KCC’s website says the authority “cannot always make changes that residents feel are needed”.

It adds: “As a top priority we must invest in locations where evidence shows crashes are occurring, which are resulting in personal injury and where there is an engineering solution that may reduce the number or severity of these.”

Cllr Constantine says the council should not wait for crashes to happen before taking action.

“I have asked KCC to think of residents concerns and complaints as an ‘early warning system’ and to respond accordingly,” she said.

“They have so far declined. Perhaps these figures will be the wake-up call needed.

“Any life lost is a huge tragedy.

“The least an elected authority can do is to take all steps they can to make roads safe, especially near schools and in very busy areas.

“They urgently need to listen and take action on residents' concerns instead of always kicking complaints into the long grass.

“I would be in favour of a 20mph zone across towns which would be relatively simple and cost-effective to implement.”

KCC says it is working to make Kent’s roads safer as part of its Vision Zero initiative, which aims to reduce the number of deaths on the county’s roads to zero by 2050.

Cllr Constantine believes the extremely ambitious target is full of “buzz words”, adding: “How about something as radical as actually listening to residents?”

The lack of maintenance of Kent’s roads, such as potholes, has long been criticised.

Darren Crooks suffered “life-changing” injuries when his motorbike hit a crater on the A2060 in Folkestone.

The 37-year-old broke his femur, his left foot and toes, suffered knee ligament ruptures, bruised lungs and a fractured back.

He is still being affected now by the crash, which happened on April 16, 2022.

The father-of-three told KentOnline: “Things aren't back to normal yet.

“My knee, back and leg still play up. I've got young children and trying to run after them is almost impossible.”

Mr Crooks, from Wingham, is not surprised by Kent’s crash ranking, adding: “I think it's absolutely appalling, the state of the roads.

“I've had numerous punctures on my vehicles from the condition of Kent's road. “It’s just awful.”

The biker is currently in a legal battle with the county council, which does not accept any liability for the crash.

Another councillor who has been lobbying KCC to improve its road network is Mike Baldock (Ind), who represents Swale West.

He told KentOnline: “You notice a deterioration of the roads when you drive into Kent.

“And bad roads lead to more accidents.

“It's all short-term response to things like potholes, but they haven't budgeted for proper maintenance.

“Then you get the utility companies declaring everything as an emergency, digging the roads up and leaving poor quality repairs.

“I think KCC has so far lost control of the quality of the roads in Kent.

“It needs the government to step in as a matter of public safety and provide money to make the most dangerous areas safer.”

A KCC spokesman pointed out that Kent has some of the country’s busiest roads due to its proximity to London and Europe.

They added: “When looking at collision data as a rate per billion vehicle miles travelled in 2022 Kent, excluding Medway, was 85th with a rate of 374.

“We recognise that we have more to do, and KCCl has made a bold commitment to cut the number of people killed or very seriously injured in road collisions on our network to zero by 2050.

“As part of the Kent and Medway Safer Roads Partnership, we work proactively with partners from Medway Council, National Highways, the Port of Dover and emergency services to implement a county-wide safe system approach.”

A spokesman for National Highways, which manages motorways and some A roads, added: “Safety is our top priority and we remain committed to improving our motorways and major A roads that we look after.

“Our roads remain amongst the safest in the world, however, we continue to keep our roads under review and continually seek to improve them.”

Figures show the overall number of deaths on Kent’s roads were down from 44 in 2022 to 37 in 2023.