THE death toll on Oxfordshire's roads this year has now reached a total of 50.

This is ten more than the total for the whole of last year, when the death toll reached 40.

Thame Valley Police and county council road safety officials have now appealed to all drivers to reduce their speed and ensure they drive safely.

Motorists were advised to switch off mobile phones before getting behind the wheel and to wear their seatbelts.

Sgt Paul Thornton, a road safety officer based in North Oxfordshire, said the layout of certain roads and driver fatigue could also be contributory factors in fatal accidents.

Road safety officials fear the death toll on the county's roads will continue to rise as the winter months approach but hope it will not top the total number of fatalities for 2003 - 64.

There has been a 24 per cent reduction in fatal and serious road accidents in the county since 1996.

The highest number of road deaths in Oxfordshire since local government boundary changes in 1974 was in 1978, when 99 people were killed.