British motorists have long endured a running battle with potholes, but as cash-stapped councils struggle to find the funds to fix the holes it is a problem which has become endemic.

New research has revealed a list of the worst towns and cities in the country for potholes, with some areas of the country seeing almost 80 per cent of roads in disrepair.

The city of Bristol was discovered to have the highest percentage of roads in need of repair, with 78.5% of them requiring maintenance either right away or in the not too distant future.

However, according to the plans that have been drawn up so far, only 0.4% of the road network in the city will either be strengthened, resurfaced, or given a surface cleaning treatment by the time this month is over.

With 76% of them in need of maintenance or repair, the roadways in Blackburn and Darwen were ranked as the second worst in all of England.

And in other parts of the North West, Cheshire West and Cheshire were placed third for having the most neglected roads. Seventy-two percent of the roads in the region are in need of maintenance.

Over ninety percent of the roads in Redcar and Cleveland are considered to be in passable condition, making these two regions home to the nation's best-maintained roadways.

According to statistics compiled by the industry, clearing the pothole backlog in England and Wales would take nine years and cost more than £12 billion.

“Potholes are the bane of every driver's life,” said Julie Daniels from CompareTheMarket who compiled the data.

“Not only are they a road safety hazard, they can also cause significant damage to your car if you hit one.”

Nicholas Lyes, head of roads policy at the RAC, said: 'It can't be right that council borders dictate whether a road is in good condition or not, yet this is what this research seems to suggest.

“As councils struggle to balance the books as their budgets dwindle, it's clear that in some parts of the country it's the roads that lose out.”

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