Mapped: The slowest councils at fixing potholes – and the one that took over 18 months

One pothole in Stoke-on-Trent stood for 567 days before being repaired

‘A plague on our roads’: Rishi Sunak inspects a pothole in Darlington, County Durham (PA)

England’s roads are “plagued” by potholes with some taking more than 18 months to fix – including one in Stoke-on-Trent which went unrepaired for 567 days.

As drivers increasingly face damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and busted wheels, new figures show huge waiting times between potholes being reported to councils and them being fixed.

Many councils in England take more than a month on average to fix potholes once they are reported. And in the worst offending area, the London borough of Newham, it took an average of 56 days to repair potholes after they were reported.

Lambeth council, also in London, was almost as bad, with potholes in the borough taking an average of 50 days to be fixed. Stoke-on-Trent was the third slowest area to fix potholes, taking an average of 48 days.

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that as well as lengthy average waits, in the worst cases, some are left untreated for well over a year. Five local authorities, Stoke-on-Trent, Westminster, Norfolk, East Sussex and Wiltshire all left at least one pothole unrepaired for more than 12 months.

The longest-standing pothole, in Stoke-on-Trent, blighted drivers and cyclists for 567 days – more than 18 months – after being reported before being filled in. Another in Westminster was not paved for 556 days, while in Norfolk, a pothole stood unfixed for 482 days.

Liberal Democrat local government spokesperson Helen Morgan said potholes “have become a plague on our roads”.

She said: “Motorists should not have to spend their journeys choosing between hitting potholes or dangerously swerving around an obstacle course of tarmac craters.

“Hard-working people are paying huge bills to repair damage from potholes, while this Conservative government takes away the money local councils need to repair our roads.

“It is not fair for local residents in some areas of the country to be waiting over a year for road repairs because their council cannot afford it. The pothole postcode lottery needs to end.”

The party has criticised ministers for cutting local authorities’ highways maintenance budgets by £500m since 2020, even though the government put an extra £200m into tackling potholes in last month’s budget.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the government’s potholes fund – which previously provided £500m a year to councils – will be increased to £700m in the 2023/24 financial year.

RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding welcomed the extra money but said at the time it would be “thinly spread” over England’s 190,000 miles of road.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £12.6bn.

Conservative party chairman Greg Hands said: “If you are unfortunate enough to live in an area with a Liberal Democrat council it’s less likely your potholes will be fixed.

“Labour’s record is no better. Their only plan to stop potholes in Wales is to simply stop building any roads.

“Conservatives fix more potholes than Labour or the Liberal Democrats.”