It brings us no pleasure to have to report on the deaths of four people on the roads in the area in the space of just one week.

A respected part-time firefighter, a school teacher and two young men all lost their lives.

Of course the circumstances surrounding each of the crashes which led to the deaths are completely different and will be the subject of police investigations and deliberations by a coroner.

But we can all do our bit each day to make life a little safer on the roads. Paying a little more attention to the care of our vehicles, taking a little more time for our journeys and having just a little more patience with our fellow road users should all help to make our roads safer places.

On this Bank Holiday weekend, when the roads will inevitably be even busier than normal, we wish everyone a safe journey.