Two 14-year-olds were killed after a roadblock was set up

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) said the figure - although down from 44 - was still "far too high", particularly compared to the figure of just nine for 1997-98.

Police cars often exceed the speed limit when pursuing vehicles or responding to 999 calls, sometimes with tragic consequences.

Investigations conducted over the last year included an inquiry into the deaths of two 14-year-olds who died when the stolen car they were driving at up to 100 mph smashed into a lorry after police had positioned a roadblock at the end of the Mersey Tunnel.

The boys had no chance - the police must have known they were only young kids Paul Veach, bereaved father

Darren Franey and Scott Veach had been followed by a police car after they had been spotted along with another car stolen from an address in Chester.

The inquest into the boys death heard that the independent Mersey Tunnel Police had parked two vehicles as a roadblock at the Liverpool end of the tunnel after being informed by regular police of the approach of stolen vehicles.

A bus and a lorry were travelling towards the roadblock a distance ahead of the stolen Vauxhall Vectras.

The lead car managed to slip through the gap clipping a police car and escaping, but the car carrying the two 14-year-olds ploughed into the lorry.

A verdict of unlawful killing was recorded, and five officers from the tunnel police were suspended on full pay, but no criminal charges have been pressed.

Crossing injury

Paul Veach, whose son Scott was a passenger, said he felt that police officers in general would never take responsibility for accidents and that he remained unhappy with the investigation into his son's death.

He told BBC News Online: "The police won't own up to any chases. They just seem to do the things they want.

"There must be another way that doesn't end in death. The boys had no chance. The police must have known they were only young kids."

The PCA also detailed the investigation into the death of 76-year-old John Hunter, knocked down on a pedestrian crossing in Liverpool by an unmarked police car pursuing another vehicle.

Mr Hunter suffered leg and shoulder injuries in the accident.

In Newcastle, 51-year-old Linda Donaldson was left in a vegetative state after being hit by a police car on a pedestrian crossing.

Police constable Philip Wilkinson was given a six-month suspended sentence after admitting dangerous driving, having allegedly failed to switch on his siren and overtaken cars at the crossing.

Other cases include a pair of motorcyclists killed after their bike hit a bus after a chase and a nine-year-old girl who died after being hit by a police dog van attending an emergency call.