IT has been a busy and "desperately sad" bank holiday weekend say police after fatal and serious collisions on the region's roads.

North Wales Police are thanking the public, as well as their own officers and staff, following what they describe as a "difficult weekend."

Superintendent Jane Banham, from the force’s Operational Support Services, said: “Once again we have had a desperately sad weekend whereby our officers have dealt with fatal and serious collisions, and we would like to extend our heartfelt sympathies to all families and friends of those involved.

"We would like to reassure the public that a thorough investigation will be carried out into every single collision and police enquiries are now underway. The families of those that sadly died are now being supported by specially and highly-trained Family Liaison officers. These will now provide a two-way flow of information between the bereaved families and the investigation team.

"Dealing with fatal and serious collisions is never easy, and I would like to commend our staff, as well as colleagues from other emergency services, for their continued professionalism when dealing with such incidents.

"They dealt with difficult scenes in very hot and humid weather conditions and although additional police officers were brought on duty due to the sheer number of collisions that they were dealing with, many of them worked additional hours and for that we are extremely grateful.

"We would also like to thank the motoring public for their patience and understanding following the several road closures that were implemented over the weekend. We are fully aware of the impact closing roads can have on the transport network, and that, coupled with the additional bank holiday traffic, meant there was extra pressure.

"Although we apologise for any inconvenience that might have been caused, we are sure people can appreciate the severity of the weekend’s incidents and the reasoning behind the closures.

"Road safety is the responsibility of us all, whether as a driver, motorcyclist, cyclist or pedestrian and I would like to take this opportunity to ask everybody to take extra care when out and about on the roads, to think about their behaviour and what changes they could make to improve their own safety and that of other road users.

"Our dedicated team of police officers and police staff are fully committed to promoting road safety. Working 24/7 they carry out a great deal of campaign work which will continue with the sole aim of attempting to reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions.

"We are aware of concerns by local residents therefore we will also continue to target the minority who are endangering lives by their unreasonable actions.

"Following yet another busy weekend we will be focussing our enforcement in an attempt to reduce any further casualties and collisions by adopting a zero-tolerance approach.

"We are committed to keeping people safe on the roads of North Wales - we want them to enjoy the roads but most of all we want them to ride and drive safely and responsibly.

"Whilst the vast majority of motorists ride or drive appropriately, we will continue to target, with a view to prosecution, all those that ride or drive dangerously, at excess speed, overtake on solid white lines or commit any other road traffic offences. Please heed the warning.”

Investigations into the collisions are ongoing and anybody who may have information that could assist officers with their investigations are urged to contact North Wales Police via 101 or via the live web chat.