Essex Road Maintenance Budget Cut

Essex County Council is cutting its road maintenance budget, according to figures.

Essex has reduced its budget by more than £648,000, according to Autoglass, which submitted a Freedom of Information request to local authorities.

Of the 18 authorities which responded, nine reported cuts, six said they had no plans to cut road maintenance spending and just three - Birmingham, Hampshire and Cambridgeshire - reported extra spending.

Nearly half of people questioned in a recent Autoglass poll said they would prefer to see state support for the Royal Family trimmed if the money could be diverted to fixing the crumbling road network, while almost two in five also called for the foreign aid budget to be cut to tackle the problem.

Autoglass managing director Matthew Mycock said: "Cuts in the road maintenance programme will inevitably mean potholes go unfilled and cracks are left unrepaired.

"This will cause discomfort and inconvenience to drivers, damage to their vehicles and even jeopardise their safety.

"Every day, we hear from our customers that travelling around parts of Britain is becoming a nightmare because of the state of the roads and this is not likely to improve in the foreseeable future."

He went on: "The state of the UK's transport network is a huge issue and and many drivers would be prepared to countenance cuts in other budgets if the money was then earmarked to fix the nation's roads."