A survey carried out by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has found that 48 per cent of people in Britain feel unsafe cycling in their area.

The survey of 2,169 people, announced at the start of RoSPA’s Family Safety Week, also found that 58 per cent of people never cycle, with 15 per cent declaring that their roads are ‘very unsafe’.

Funding for cycling currently falls far below the target £10 per capita. The deputy prime minister this week announced a £115m cycling investment as part of the ‘Cycling Ambition Cities Programme'; but it will only improve cycling networks in a small handful of cities across the UK.

Head of policy at Thompsons Solicitors, Tom Jones, said: “The results from RoSPA’s research are hardly surprising. Across the UK there were 13 cyclist deaths in the first two weeks of this year alone, a figure that is sadly indicative of the dangers cyclists face every day on our roads.

“We have said it before, and we will say it again, Britain’s roads are not safe for cyclists. There is more that needs to be done to help better protect cyclists on the roads from cars, lorries and other vehicles, and that can only start with priority funding for cycling.

“Aside from fundamentally saving lives, funding for cycling will also reap social and economic benefits, yet the coalition government continues to make small scale gestures instead of investing the actual funding needed to tackle the major issue of cycling safety in the UK.”