Britain’s pothole capital where almost 80% of the roads need improvement…so how bad is your area?

Bristol has been named England’s capital of potholes, with nearly 80 per cent of its roads in need of improvement.

Analysis of municipal data by Comparethemarket has identified which municipalities are most lagging behind in road repairs.

The Daily Mail is campaigning to end Britain’s pothole plague, which is costing motorists millions and putting cyclists at risk of injury or death.

Councils are responsible for maintaining most of the roads within their area, while National Highways handle highways and major A roads.

But the comparison site has revealed a zip code lottery, with the proportion of well-maintained roads varying wildly across the country.

The Daily Mail is campaigning to end Britain’s pothole plague, which is costing motorists millions and putting cyclists at risk of injury or death

Councils are responsible for maintaining most of the roads within their area, while National Highways handle highways and major A roads

Bristol was found to have the highest rate of derelict roads, with 78.5 per cent requiring work immediately or in the near future.

However, under current plans, only 0.4 percent of the city’s road network would be reinforced, repaved or treated by the end of this month.

Blackburn’s roads to Darwen were the second worst in England, with 76 per cent needing improvement.

And elsewhere in the North West, Cheshire West and Cheshire ranked third for the most neglected roads – with 72 per cent in the area needing work.

Meanwhile, the country’s best-preserved roads were found in Redcar and Cleveland, where more than 90 percent are in good condition.

Industry statistics suggest that the road works backlog in England and Wales would take nine years and cost more than £12 billion to clear.

Julie Daniels, car insurance expert at Comparethemarket, said: ‘Potholes are the bane of every motorist’s life.

“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 road policy at the RAC, said: ‘It can’t be right for town boundaries to determine whether a road is in good condition or not, but this is what this research seems to suggest.

“As municipalities struggle to balance the books as their budgets shrink, it’s clear that in some parts of the country, the roads are taking the brunt.” Motorists with comprehensive auto insurance can usually file a claim for pothole damage.

Local authorities also accept insurance claims if a car is damaged by a pothole in their area.

However, there is no guarantee that a claim will be successful.

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said it would take more time to analyze the data, but added that an additional £2.5 million would be put into the potholes fund for the next financial year.

Cllr David Renard, transport spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: ‘There are many reasons for differences in the condition of local roads, including the age of the road network, weather conditions, how regularly it is used or if it is being dug up. by utilities.

“Current funding levels are already inadequate and will lead to a deterioration of roads with the impact of inflation.”

Tell us about the worst potholes in your area and we might fix it for FREE!

Readers of Daily Mail, MailOnline and This is Money can send in photos of the worst potholes near where they live and you’ll automatically be entered into the drawing to have it removed permanently for free.

If a winner is chosen, JCB will send its crater-repairing PotholePro machine to repair it.

Send an email to potholes@dailymail.co.uk following the five steps below:

1. Send an email with the subject ‘POTHOLE’.

2. Add an image no larger than 2MB of the pit.

3. Include a brief description of the pothole and how bad you think it is.

4. Tell us where it is, including the street name and the nearest city, town or village.

5. Please include your full name and a phone number in case we need to contact you to learn more about your nominated pothole – and possibly fix it.

We’ll pick a selection of the worst potholes you’ve nominated and let readers vote which potholes should be repaired for free by JCB’s PotholePro.

Personal data is not shared with third parties.

> Find out more about the JCB PotholePro and how it can repair a road near you