The growing number of potholes on roads up and down the UK continues to have an adverse impact on motorists.

According to research carried out by the AA as part of its Streetwatch initiative, a total of 40 per cent of respondents in March this year stated the roads in their area could be described as being in a "terrible" condition – up from 29 per cent in October last year.

Meanwhile, just 18 per cent of people said their local roads could be said to be in "excellent" condition in March, while 34 per cent noted main roads were terrible and 13 per cent said they were excellent.

Over recent months, many roads up and down the country have been bombarded with adverse weather conditions and this has served to drive up the number of potholes and other road defects being reported to local authorities across the UK.

It is therefore essential councils are doing everything in their power to tackle this ongoing issue, as potholes have the potential to cause serious damage to vehicles and even cause accidents.

AA president Edmund King commented: "It is unacceptable that each winter, whether it is frost or rain, our roads are crumbling and give way too easily. Bad surfaces with millions of potholes can cause death and injury especially to those on two wheels and lead to expensive damage and insurance claims."

He added the provision of emergency government funding to carry out repairs to roads across the UK is something that is welcomed by drivers and all road users, but more still needs to be done to deliver roads that are better able to weather adverse events in the first place.

"We must ensure that our politicians recognise the crisis as we come up to local and general elections," Mr King concluded.

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