National Pothole Day: Nightmare for drivers 'will only get worse'

There are an incredible 31,000 potholes awaiting repair on Britain's roads across nearly 12,000 miles of roads.

And it is estimated they cause as many as one in 10 mechanical failures on our roads, costing motorists an estimated £730 million every year.

Today is National Pothole Day, set up by the founder of the website Street Repairs.

The campaign day first ran last year and has garnered support from politicians and industry experts such as the RAC.

Founder Colin Mahoney said:" "The reaction to the first National Pothole Day was overwhelming. Reports of potholes increased dramatically with over 88 per cent of reports now relating directly to potholes and increasing the awareness nationally of the seriousness of the problems and potential dangers relating to the disrepair of our roads.

"I can honestly say that public sentiment is still very high in relation to this major ongoing issue and things are set to get worse.

"Once again we hope the general public will showcase what their roads and communities are really like. We would like as many people as possible to join our pothole campaign on social media and by using our free system to highlight local issues quickly and easily".

Britain's climate makes it especially susceptible to potholes caused by water expanding as it freezes before melting.

The road network has benefited from a record mild winter but the start to 2016 will not be as welcoming.

Temperature are expected to plummet, bringing freezing conditions across the country.

Authorities currently pay out more than £30 million in compensation claims due to poor roads

And new research reveals that seven in 10 experienced drivers think roads have got noticeably worse over the years they have been driving, with four out of five believing potholes and cracks are not fixed as quickly as they used to be.

A survey of nearly 10,000 over-50s by Saga Car Insurance found the majority of older motorists thought poor maintenance meant driving conditions had got worse in recent years.

Just one in 10 said road conditions had improved in their lifetime.

Sue Green, head of car insurance at Saga, said: "Around nine out of ten over 50 drive regularly so it's not surprising they have great insight about the state of the UK's roads.

"People shouldn't have to play Russian roulette with their suspension."

As well as potentially damaging cars, potholes can be dangerous and even deadly for cyclists and motorcyclists.

Earlier this month, a mother-of-three died after hitting a pothole in the road which was due to be repaired by a council.

Triathlete Kate Vanloo, 52, rode into the water-filled hole in Napton-on-the-Hill, Warwickshire, and was struck by a car after being thrown into the road

The road was reportedly due to have been resurfaced before Christmas but the work was postponed. The pothole had been filled within 48 hours of the tragedy.

The Chancellor George Osborne announced a £250million pothole fund in his autumn statement as part of a package of measures to improve the country's creaking transport system.

Britain has more than 31,000 potholes awaiting repair on nearly 12,000 miles of roads, according to a report published in November.

The blighted roads would cover the distance from London to Wellington in New Zealand – roughly half way round the Earth.

A typical pothole measured 0.4 square metres and the average repair bill to cars for damage was £267, the research by insurer LV= found.

The number of unfilled potholes could be higher, as only two-thirds of all councils responded to the insurer's Freedom of Information requests.

The research found drivers in the North East were most likely to suffer damage to their vehicles because of potholes, with 19 per cent having been affected, followed by 18 per cent of those in the West Midlands and 17 per cent in London.

InWolverhampton the council repairs more than 3,000 potholes every year.

During 2014, the city council was awarded a cash windfall of £500,000 to fix thousands of potholes as part of a total £6.6 million potholes cashpot, shared with other Black Country and Staffordshire authorities.

Prime Minister David Cameron even singled Wolverhampton out for praise.

"Wolverhampton has shown it is one of the leading areas in the country in its determination to beat potholes and is receiving extra cash as a result," he said.

But compensation payments to damaged cars remain a a big pressure on the public purse.

More than £1 million has been paid out to drivers in Sandwell for damage caused to their cars by potholes.

Around 200 claims from motorists were settled by Sandwell Council between 2011 and 2015.

Last year, council workmen filled in more than 2,000 holes on the borough's ravaged roads.

Potholes cost taxpayers in Staffordshire more than £58,000 in compensation for damaged cars in a single year.

Staffordshire was ranked the 15th worst in the country for cars damaged by potholes after it was revealed a total of 875 claims were made in 2013-14, resulting in a pay-out of £58,314.

However, the figures, released by the RAC Foundation, also showed this amount is significantly lower than the compensation released in 2012-13, which saw £94,866 paid out by Staffordshire County Council.

In Dudley, there were 185 successful claims from motorists whose vehicles were damaged by potholes across the borough between October 1 2012 to October 1 2015.

The figures, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, reveal the authority has had to shell out £40,322.24 in that period.

Councillor Mark Deaville, Staffordshire County Council's cabinet support member for highways and transport, said local authorities understands that potholes are an 'issue' for motorists but spelled out the difficulties facing councils.

He said: "We currently fix around 350 potholes per week with priority repairs normally completed the same day, but maintaining and improving the highways' network is an ongoing, costly challenge for both the county and the country.

"Potholes are a sign of a road already weakened by wear and tear or weather damage and that is why we want to see greater focus on creating a sustainable road maintenance programme which reduces the risk of potholes in the first place."

Find out more about National Pothole Day at streetrepairs.co.uk.