England's worst county for potholes named in bombshell roads study - full list

04 December 2023 , 21:20

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Derbyshire is the worst place in the country for potholes, RAC figures reveal (Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga)

Derbyshire is the worst place in the country for potholes, as RAC figures released in September reveal the county is the number one top spot and has the highest number of potholes per regions in the UK at 90,596. But nearby Staffordshire is also high up the list, with the worst response times to fix the unsightly, dangerous, craters in the road.

Additionally, in Stoke-on-Trent, 657 days can pass before someone will attend to a road pothole. Then in Westminster, it will take 556 days on average, and Norfolk takes 482 days. Potholes remain a source of misery and annoyance for many across the country.

In Lewes, East Sussex, a bonfire society burned "Pothole Pete" on Guy Fawkes night this year, to represent the common man who fails to deliver on road maintenance. In Plumtree, Nottinghamshire, people became so fed up of complaining to the council about a pothole that they threw it a party on its second birthday, and even stuck three candles in a Colin the Caterpillar cake which was placed next to the hole, The Telegraph reports.

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Potholes remain a source of misery and annoyance for many across the country (Getty Images)

Additionally, last year Essex resident Sir Rod Stewart said: “This is the state of the road near where I live. It’s been like this for ages. People are bashing their cars up and the other day there was an ambulance with a burst tyre.”

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“My Ferrari can’t go through here at all", he added. According to The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey, our roads are in the worst state they've ever been in, with nearly 11 million more cars registered in Britain than in 1995.

Cyclists are particularly at risk of potholes, with the national legal helpline, Cycle-SOS, indicating that 21 per cent of cyclists in the UK have been involved in an accident due to a pothole. Motorists are also suffering, with the RAC stating that 2023 is the worst year for breakdowns caused by potholes in five years, with this costing a driver up to £440.

They said more than a third of drivers have to change lanes to avoid them, with the AA stating that potholes account for 460,000 callouts in the first nine months of 2023, which is a fifth more than 2022. According to the RAC, the weather is part of the problem, with the deterioration prompted by several spells of considerably below average temperatures mixed with some very wet conditions last winter.

This means that water seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, meaning road surfaces deteriorate "rapidly". A spokesperson added: "It’s also important to note that last winter wasn’t particularly harsh, which demonstrates very clearly just how fragile our local roads really are.

Cyclists are particularly at risk of potholes (Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)

"The fact councils are paying out money to drivers whose vehicles suffered pothole damage is another damning indictment of the state of our roads.” Derbyshire County Council (DCC) is said to be making "big investments" to bolster the conditions of roads, and has seen 34.5 miles of roads "surface dressed".

The council states that it fixed 100,000 potholes last year, and this year it would fix 82,000 by mid November. Councillor Charlotte Cupit, DCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport said: "Given the exceptionally wet summer we have been repairing more potholes in our roads at a time when we’d expect to see reports fall. We are working hard to try to rise to these challenges.”

Yet according to experts, part of the the issue is that individual potholes are only ever patched up, and the whole stretch of road is neglected. According to the Asphalt Industry Alliance's (AIA) annual survey of roads, resurfacing works now happen on average "once every 143 years" and local authorities in England need an average of an extra £8.5 million in funding to reach their own target road conditions and stop deterioration.

Nevertheless, in some positive news, this month the government revealed that a quarter of the savings made from ditching the promised second leg of HS2 would be put towards resurfacing local roads. The £8.3 billion on potholes has the potential to be "a real game changer".

Charlie Duffield