Britain is facing a “crisis” as the number of deaths from accidents has risen by 42% in the past decade, a report has warned.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) says people are “substantially more likely” to suffer a serious accident than they were 20 years ago.

Figures from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland show a UK-wide increase of 42% in accidental deaths over the past decade, with more than 20,000 people killed each year.

Accidental deaths have increased by 60% in Scotland, 42% in Wales and 67% in Northern Ireland since 2013, the report found. They have also become the leading preventable cause of death for people under 40, with more than half of fatal accidents occurring in the home.

The study found that nearly half (46 percent) of accidental deaths in 2022 resulted from falls, with more than a quarter (26 percent) from poisoning and 7 percent from a road or transport-related accident.

The study also found that accidents cost the UK nearly £12bn each year – £6bn in NHS care and £5.9bn in lost working days.

RoSPA called on the government to implement a National Accident Prevention Strategy to “save lives, boost the economy and free up capacity in the NHS”.

Becky Hickman, chief executive of the society, said: “We must act now to stop preventable deaths and serious injuries – ACCIDENTS they are avoidable and should not happen.

“Britain is facing an accident crisis. We are all much more likely to have a serious accident today than we were 20 years ago.

“Even those who have never been involved in an accident are still suffering as increasing numbers of accidents choke the UK economy and swallow up the NHS – taking up bed space, money, time and resources that could be directed to other serious illnesses.”

It comes after a coroner ruled that mother-of-two Helen Davey died when she was accidentally suffocated by her ottoman bed, which collapsed onto her neck at her home in Seaham, County Durham.

Last month, a separate inquest found former pub landlord John Harries died after suffering “significant” head injuries when he fell down a set of concrete stairs. He died at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, in July, a month after the fall.

Meanwhile, accident victim Brian Whitnall was hospitalized for six days after accidentally cutting off two of his toes while mowing his lawn earlier this year. The 50-year-old sales manager for a printer and copier company underwent two operations after the accident.

Mr Whitnall said: “It was a warm Sunday and my partner Rachel was washing the driveway while I was cutting the grass.”

He continued: “While riding my Flymo lawnmower I took a step backwards and my foot got caught on the stairs leading to my nephew’s trampoline. Next thing, I’m falling on my back.

“Instead of letting go of the handle, which would have stopped the engine, I gripped it harder to try to steady myself and brought the mower towards me.

“I felt a burning heat in my right foot and knew immediately that I had cut off a few toes.”

The report also showed hospital admissions related to accidents for serious injuries have risen by 48% over the past two decades in England alone – with more than 740,000 people admitted after an accident in 2022/23.

More than 4.4 million bed days were used to treat patients with accident injuries in England last year, costing the NHS around £4.6 billion.

A bed day means that a person is admitted as an inpatient, confined to bed and stays overnight in the hospital.

In the UK, accidents resulted in around 5.2 million bed days, costing the NHS around £5.4 billion in the past year.

Accidents led to around seven million visits to A&E in the UK last year, costing a further £613m and taking the total cost of accidents to NHS to at least £6 billion annually.

Almost 29 million working days were lost to accidents in the UK in 2022/23 – 10 times more than were lost to strikes. The combined cost to UK businesses is £5.9 billion, the report said