YOUNG drivers are involved in almost a third of accidents on Suffolk roads and account for a quarter of fatalities.

Chief Constable Alastair McWhirter is being asked to tackle the problem after the "shocking" figures were revealed to MP David Ruffley.

The Bury St Edmunds MP has been conducting a House of Commons investigation into safety on Suffolk's roads and the county's major trunk road, the A14.

Figures obtained by Mr Ruffley during his questioning of Stephen Ladyman, Minister of State for Transport, reveal that 32 per cent of all accidents on Suffolk's roads in 2005 involved drivers under the age of 21.

They also accounted for 25 per cent of all fatalities on Suffolk's roads. During 2005, nearly a fifth of all accidents on the A14 in Suffolk involved drivers under the age of 21.

Mr Ruffley said: "These are shocking figures. It is clear that inexperience is a key contributory factor and is something we must urgently address."