York council has spent more money on road maintenance - but repaired fewer potholes - over the last three financial years, figures reveal.

Three out of five drivers (60 per cent) polled nationally for an annual RAC survey, said the condition of local roads has deteriorated in the past year, up from 52 per cent in 2020, and 58 per cent in 2021.

More than half (55 per cent) said the standard of pothole repairs is poor.

The Local Government Association, which represents 350 councils in England and Wales, released new analysis this year, which showed that councils were facing £3.6 billion of unforeseen extra cost pressures onto their budgets in 2024-25.

It attributed this to current global issues such as the war in Ukraine leading to a shortage of materials – 60 per cent of the UK’s bitumen, used to fill roads, came from Russia - and increasing inflation, which has led to an increase of 22 per cent in costs per pothole repair.

Figures obtained from City of York Council have revealed how much has been spent on road maintenance in York, broken down by financial year 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22.

The amount of money that the council spent on basic road maintenance has increased over the years.

The council was unable to break down the costs, but overall reported that the amount spent each year was £1,377,740 in 2019-20, £1,569,295 in 2020-21, and £1,711,827 in 2021-22.

However, the number of potholes that were repaired by the council has fallen over the years - 14,442 were repaired in 2019-20, 15,406 in 2020-21, and 12,169 in 2021-22.

The figures show that the number of potholes reported to the council has also fallen over the last three years.

In 2019-20 there were 2,474 reports, which dropped to 2,407 in 2020-21, and 1,654 in 2021-22.

Separate RAC figures on breakdowns due to pothole-related damage show drivers are 1.6 times more likely to suffer such an issue than they were in 2006.

However, the amount that City of York council paid in compensation to claimants where vehicle damage was caused by potholes also decreased.

In 2019-20, £7,203.97 was paid to 87 claimants, and in 2020-21, £2,163.32 was paid to 24 claimants.

The council could not say how many compensation claims were rejected, nor could it provide the figures for 2021-22.

James Gilchrist, Director of Environment, Transport and Planning at City of York Council, said: "The condition of all York’s roads are assessed on an annual and monthly basis and repair work is carried out based on this assessment, which adheres to national best practice guidelines.

"The difference in repair costs between 2020/21 and 2021/22 is mainly due to poor weather conditions during the winter of 20/21.

“These resulted in more temporary pothole repairs than permanent patches which cost more to carry out in terms of materials and increased traffic management costs.

"It is not uncommon for a highway inspector to issue one order to make safe during bad spells of weather in winter, and then another to make a long-term permanent repair in the summer months. As a result, these costs would have been recorded in 2021/22."

To report a pothole to City of York council, click here.