Three dead and more injured in 'tragic' week on Devon and Cornwall's roads

• Supt Adrian Leisk on 'tragic' week of crashes'

A senior police officer has urged drivers to cut their speeds after a 'tragic week' on Devon and Cornwall's roads.

Three motorbike riders have died in three separate incidents which happened less than a week apart.

Other incidents have seen a man left with life-changing injuries and two children hurt in a separate crash.

Superintendent Adrian Leisk, from Devon and Cornwall Police's roads team, said: "It's been an incredibly tragic week.

"In a lot of collisions, speed is a huge factor. We know that travelling at excess speed reduces people's ability to react and deal with what's in front of them.

"We also know that the level of injuries and the level of damage to vehicles is obviously a lot higher with excess speed."

On Wednesday 4 May, a motorbike collided with a people carrier on the A390 at Lostwithiel in Cornwall. The bike's rider - 39-year-old Benjamin Lavender from St Austell - died at the scene.

The following day a motorbike and car collided on the A377 near Downes Mill in Crediton, Devon. The motorbike rider later died in hospital.

On Friday 6 May, a man in his 20s suffered life-changing injuries in a single-vehicle crash in Bere Alston.

Later that same day four people, including two young boys, were hurt in a collision on the A30 at Monkton, near Honiton.

Then on Monday 9 May, a 34-year-old male motorbike rider was killed in a crash on the A3072 in Bude.