One of Kent's motorways is becoming a lorry accident blackspot, according to a top MP.

The Liberal Democrats have released statistics that show 40 per cent of crashes on the M20 over a five-year period where someone was killed or injured involved heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) - more than any other major motorway in the country.

According to the figures, there were 989 injury accidents on the M20 between 2002 and 2006, of which 392 involved at least one HGV.

The percentage across all accidents on all motorways is 27 per cent.

How do other motorways compare over the same period?

• M2: 443 accidents, of which 80 involved HGVs (18 per cent)

• M25: 5,939 accidents, of which 2,150 involved HGVs (36 per cent)

• M26: 89 accidents, of which 33 involved HGVs (37 per cent)

• M1: 6,663 accidents, of which 1,953 involved HGVs (29 per cent)

• M6: 5,151 accidents, of which 1,953 involved HGVs (35 per cent)

Norman Baker, Lib Dem transport spokesman, said "many of these accidents could have been avoided".

But Geoff Dosseter, director of external affairs at the Tunbridge Wells-based Freight Transport Association (FTA), told KentOnline the situation is not as bad as the Lib Dems have painted it.

He said: "The M20 carries traffic up from Dover and from Cheriton at the Channel Tunnel - so we would expect there to be a lot of lorries carrying freight to and from Europe.

• Audio: Geoff Dosseter speaks to Jo Sword about this issue - and offers car drivers some useful advice >>>

"If there are more lorries on a particular road, then there are likely to be more accidents involving them."

To try and combat the problem, Mr Baker is calling for more freight to be moved onto the railways, adding: "Our road network is clearly not capable of dealing with the large volume of freight it presently carries."

But Mr Dosseter argued: "Certainly we want to see a continuous rise in investment in rail - but what we've not seen is an adequate investment in roads. The better quality of motorways we have the better the safety standards are."

And Dr Stephen Ladyman, former Transport Minister and South Thanet MP, spoke of the cost involved in shifting more freight onto the railways.

He said: "If you put freight onto the existing railway line in Kent the commuter lines couldn’t run. To really get a major shift of freight onto the railway you’ve got to build new lines.

That’s a massively expensive project that would require a huge amount of public money to be invested. It’s easy for the Liberal Democrats to make these calls, they don’t have to pay for them."