POTHOLES and poor road surfaces in Worcestershire are being targeted in a new government investment into road surfaces.

In his autumn statement, the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond promised £420 million to local authorities to help mend damaged roads across the country.

Worcestershire County Council welcomed news of the investment, though they say no final figure has been agreed on.

Councillor Alan Amos, cabinet member with responsibility for highways, said: "Road maintenance is one of the county council's top priorities and one we have continued to invest in over recent years.

"This includes many urban and rural initiatives, such as the congestion programme, our very proactive pothole activity and the Driving Home investment scheme.

"I'm delighted with the announcement in Monday's Budget and we have already asked Central Government to confirm the finer details of the extra funding for Worcestershire.

"Overall, it is excellent news and will enable our highways teams to carry out even more road and footpath improvements, as well as fixing more potholes."

The weather plays a significant part in the number of potholes appearing on the roads.

With a cold winter followed by an exceptionally hot and dry summer, the number of potholes on Worcestershire roads has only increased throughout 2018.

This makes accidents and breakdowns much more likely, not just for motorists, but cyclists as well.

RAC breakdown data for the three months of April - June 2018 showed there were 4,091 breakdown call-outs across the UK for damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels. Damage they say is mainly due to poor road surfaces.

Earlier this year, the Road Surface Treatments Association released figures which stated that the total backlog of pothole and road surface repairs in Britain would cost £12.6 billion and take up to 14 years to fix.

The association also claimed that on average it would cost £69 million per council to fix local road networks.