A campaign group has welcomed news that Waltham Forest Council is to send all its lorry drivers on training courses in an attempt to cut crashes with cyclists in London.

The authority has signed up to the London Cycling Campaign’s 'Safer Lorries, Safer Cycling' pledge, which also includes a commitment to install modernised mirrors, side guards and extra signage on large vehicles.

Haulage contractors for Waltham Forest will also be forced to sign up under the scheme.

It comes following a number of high-profile deaths of cyclists run over by lorries in London in recent years.

They include Walthamstow dad-of-one Peter McGreal, who was killed after being struck by a lorry in June 2011.

The 44-year-old, of St Johns Road, was on his way to work when he was killed in Bethnal Green.

Robert Vaughan, chair of the Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign, said Islington Council was the only other authority that had so far signed up to the scheme.

He added: "Waltham Forest has taken a bold step to reduce road danger.

"Lorry safety plays a very important role in improving our streets for everyone. We look forward to working with the Council to help implement the pledge."

The council's cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Clyde Loakes, said in a statement: "Waltham Forest has strong ambitions not just to reduce road danger, but to enable many more residents of all ages to cycle and walk more often and, crucially, more safely."

The London Cycling Campaign is calling on the capital's remaining councils to also sign up.

It claims that lorries are responsible for almost half of cyclist deaths, despite making up just five per cent of traffic in London.