England's roads are being abandoned as new data shows that just three per cent of the country's 183,000km local road network received any form of maintenance in 2023/24.
New data from the RAC found that only 4,894 miles of council-run roads were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved in the last financial year.
Shockingly, this is an 18 per cent improvement compared to the previous year, when just 4,144 miles of roads were improved, with drivers left to deal with poor infrastructure.
However, England's local road network saw 7,510 miles of roads maintained in 2017/18, representing a staggering 35 per cent decline in the last few years.
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The RAC has called for more to be done to improve the quality of English roads
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Only five per cent of A roads around England were strengthened, resurfaced or preserved, accounting for 817 miles of the country's 17,860 miles of main roads.
Meanwhile, only two per cent of minor roads in England were strengthened, resurfaced or given "life extending preservation" treatment in 2023/24.
Simon Williams, head of policy at the RAC, described the new data as an improvement on the previous financial year, but said it was "hardly great progress" given 2022/23 was a five-year low.
He added: "It remains the case that still only a slither of England’s total road network is getting any maintenance attention whatsoever.
"This reinforces our belief that most councils are in a cycle of merely filling potholes, rather than looking after their roads properly.
"The bigger picture is far more concerning because it still shows a significant decline in the proportion of our roads strengthened, resurfaced or preserved compared to six years ago."
Half of England's 152 councils failed to complete any vital preservation work to prevent potholes from forming on major A roads, which has become one of the most common issues for motorists.
Research highlighted how preventative measures were used to avoid the need for more costly resurfacing projects. This could include preservation, rejuvenation, surface dressing and micro surfacing.
Labour has declared war on potholes with a ÂŁ1.6billion boost for councils to help them fix road issues and make travelling easier for motorists.
Alongside this, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would suspend funding for councils if they fail to prove that the investment is going to filling in potholes.
Simon Williams called on local authorities to focus on permanent solutions, rather than trying to "patch pothole-ridden roads that are beyond saving".
He added that the RAC expects to see a significant improvement in the quality of road surfaces thanks to the extra maintenance and funding from the Government.
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Labour pledged to invest ÂŁ1.6billion to fix an additional one million potholes every year
GO.COMPAREThese calls were echoed by Mike Hansford, chief executive of the Road Surface Treatments Association, who said councils could make use of cost-effective methods like preventative road surface treatments.
Hansford continued, saying: "If you invested in most other assets, you would invest in periodic treatments to keep that asset in good condition to achieve optimum performance. An asphalt road should be no different.
"This preventative maintenance approach results in roads being kept in good condition for longer, reduces future pothole formation, and allows local authorities to treat more of their road networks."
