Hole lot of car misery as our roads resemble 'surface of the moon'

I had my second Covid jab this week and left full of hope and optimism.

“Yes,” agreed the taxi driver taking me home, “we’re finally on the road to recovery”. And then he hit a gigantic pothole and his exhaust almost fell off.

I don’t know who swore loudest, him or me – after I got a lapful of scalding coffee.

But I sympathised as he inspected his vehicle, fearing more costly repairs from yet another pothole prang. He said that in his 30 years as a cabbie, in London and the Midlands, he has seen the nation’s highways going to hell.

He feels as if he’s “navigating an assault course” each time he’s out and his stress is soaring.

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Research suggests the true cost of the UK’s pothole problem is £10bn (Getty)

Britain’s crumbling road network has been neglected for far too long, and we are in the grip of a pothole pandemic.

The RAC says road surfaces have started to resemble “the surface of the Moon” and some 52 drivers a day need rescuing after hitting holes.

Between January and March pothole-related breakdowns shot up 37%, despite fewer cars on the roads.

Britain’s crumbling road network has been neglected for far too long (PA)

And the damage is costing motorists dear. Years of underfunding mean councils have a massive backlog of repairs and Britain’s 900,000 potholes have a combined depth of more than 20 miles.

Lockdown was the ideal chance to get a grip. The Government boasted in February of allocating £500million to councils, part of a five-year, £2.5billion deal. It hardly scratches the surface.

Research suggests the true cost of the UK’s pothole problem is £10bn.

Councils insist they have been working hard to repair roads and are “filling a pothole every 19 seconds”. Like the one near me which has just been done for the second time in a year.

And THAT is where the problem lies. Councils just patch up cracks as they appear – trapped in an endless game of whack-a-hole.

We need an ambitious, long-term plan to resurface and strengthen inadequate roads and maintain them properly.

Covid has clearly saddled the country with huge debts and challenges. But the pothole pandemic has also caused ­millions of pounds worth of damage and injury and death in accidents.

So no more short-term fixes. It’s time for a long-term plan and to put our hellish highways on the road to recovery.