The number of accidental deaths in the UK has reached an all-time high, with people “significantly more likely” to suffer a serious accident than 20 years ago, data has revealed.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has warned that the country is “facing an accident crisis” after data from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland showed a 42% UK-wide increase in accidental deaths in the last decade. More than 20,000 people are killed every year.

Accidents have become the number one cause of preventable deaths for people under 40, with more than half of fatal accidents occurring at home.

The study also found that accidents cost the UK around £12 billion each year (£6 billion in NHS care and £5.9 billion in lost working days).

Crash victim Brian Whitnall was hospitalized for six days after accidentally amputating two of his toes while mowing his lawn earlier this year.

The 50-year-old sales manager of a printer and photocopier company performed two operations after the accident.

“It was a hot Sunday and my partner Rachel was jet washing the car while I was cutting the grass,” Mr Whitnall said.

“While walking with my Flymo lawnmower, I took a step backwards and tripped over the stairs leading to my grandson’s trampoline. Then I fall back.

“Instead of letting go of the lever, which could have stopped the engine, I held on tighter to steady myself and brought the mower toward me.

“I felt a burning heat in my right foot and immediately realized that some of my toes were amputated.”

When Mr Whitnall was admitted to hospital, doctors told him they could not reattach his severed toes, meaning Mr Whitnall took longer to recover and had to take time off work.

“I had surgery twice to ‘fix’ the wound but unfortunately the two toes in the middle of my right foot were gone forever.

“I stayed in hospital for six days to be monitored and to make sure the wound wasn’t infected.

“I had to wear protective boots for a few weeks after that.”

He added: “Work-wise I was able to do bits and pieces from home but because I was working on commission I couldn’t go to appointments and lost several thousand pounds in that time. “We were hurt.

“I hope to return to work very soon.”

The report showed that in England alone, accident-related hospital admissions for serious injury have increased by 48% in the last two decades, with more than 740,000 people hospitalized after an accident in 2022/23.

Accidental deaths have increased by 57 per cent in Scotland, 56 per cent in Northern Ireland, 41 per cent in Wales and 40 per cent in England since 2013.

The research found that almost half (46%) of accidental deaths in 2022 will be caused by falls, more than a quarter (26%) will be due to poisoning and 7% will be due to traffic accidents or transport-related causes.

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

Bed day means that the person is admitted as an inpatient, confined to bed, and spends the night in the hospital.

Across the UK, accidents caused around 5.2 million bed days and cost the NHS an estimated £5.4 billion last year.

Accidents resulted in nearly seven million A&E visits in the UK last year, costing an additional £613 million, bringing the total cost of accidents to the NHS to at least £6 billion annually.

Almost 29 million working days were lost due to accidents across the UK in 2022/23; This figure is 10 times the losses from strikes.

The report puts the total cost to UK businesses at £5.9 billion.

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

Becky Hickman, chief executive of the charity, said: “We must act now to stop more avoidable deaths and serious injuries; Accidents are preventable and don’t need to happen.

“Britain is facing an accident crisis.

“We are all much more likely to be involved in a serious accident today than we were 20 years ago.

“Even those who have never been involved in an accident are still suffering, as a growing number of accidents are overwhelming the UK economy and engulfing the NHS, eating up bed space, money, time and resources that could be diverted to other serious illnesses.”