A scathing attack has been lauched on police after figures revealed the number of road deaths have doubled in the past year.

The number of people killed in the Laindon Road Policing Division, which covers roads in Basildon and Thurrock, has soared from 11 in 2005 to 21 in 2006.

In the wake of the news, police vowed to drive down the figure by targeting motorists speeding and driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

But Basildon councillor Stewart Geddes accused the police of being "absent from the roads" and making "meaningless and misguided promises".

Mr Geddes, Tory councillor for Pitsea South East, added: "Essex Police don't have a traffic division any more. The only thing they do is put off-duty policemen behind cameras while paying them overtime.

"There is this idea that speeding is a big evil - it isn't, there is nothing wrong with it, and the statistics prove it.

"Mobile cameras have got no useful purpose whatsoever. What we need is the police getting out on the roads in high-visibility cars using their professional expertise to pull over people who are driving erratically."

A spokeswoman for Essex Police blamed the rise across the county, which jumped from 90 in 2005 to 101 in 2006, on ten of this year's crashes involving multiple deaths.

She rubbished Mr Geddes' claims police were just targeting speeding motorists and said more than 8,000 motorists were breathalysed at the roadside in December alone.

The spokeswoman added: "We are working on reducing all aspects of preventing road deaths.

"At the end of the day, we can only educate drivers on how to drive more safely on the roads by, for example, telling them not to use mobiles and sticking within the limit.

"But we can't be with them in the car and it takes only a moment, just a silly mistake, to cause a traffic accident."

One crash alone last year saw four children lose their lives.

The driver, Davina Smith, of Darwin Road, Tilbury - whose two children were among the dead - was later found guilty of four counts of causing death by dangerous driving.