A CATALOUGE of unsafe roads will take 13 years and more than £12billion to fix, according to latest figures.

The 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey highlights the vast increase of road users and the lack of local funding to address the pothole crisis.

A year-on-year growth of 650,000 drivers and a 16 per cent reduction in the average local authority’s highway maintenance budget have combined to create a backlog of hazardous roads.

Over the last 12 months, local highway authorities repaired 1.7million potholes – one every 19 seconds – but they are continuously chasing their tails due to ongoing cuts from the Government.

Howard Robinson, chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association (RSTA), said: “It is not just about the provision of a realistic level of investment in what is our most important infrastructure.

“That funding must also give us long-term assurance so that highway authorities can carry out cost-planned, cost-efficient programmes of maintenance and not expensive emergency repairs.

“Cost-effective maintenance that prevents potholes from forming in the first place surely is the logical financial approach “Without a significant increase in road maintenance investment the condition of our roads will go from bad to worse.”

Within the next five years, one in six of local roads will need significant repair, or may even face closure due to their poor condition.