Devon and Cornwall police say they are still managing to reduce the number of people killed in road accidents despite a drop in staffing.

A report from the road safety charity Brake says the number of traffic police has reduced nationally by more than eleven per cent in the last five years and that it's putting lives at risk.

But Devon and Cornwall police say although there has been a reduction in staff, they have still brought the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads down by more than eleven per cent in the last year.

It follows the news yesterday that Devon and Cornwall police have lost more than 200 officers between September 2010 and September 2011, largely because of budget cut backs.