Britain's 'pothole crisis' has contributed to the highest number of commuters killed or seriously injured in accidents in seven years.
The dangerous potholes can injure or even kill cyclists and motorists, and are popping up faster than they can be filled.
On average, 15 people die or suffer life-changing injuries every month in accidents caused by poor road conditions, current figures show.
The figures, from the Department for Transport and first reported by The Telegraph, show that 61 people have lost their lives in the past seven years, while a further 1,199 people have been seriously injured in crashes caused by poor road surfaces.
The price of repairing pothole-damaged vehicles reached a record £579 million last year, recent surveys have revealed.
Those using the roads most at risk during that period were cyclists, with 17 deaths, and motorcyclists, with 19 deaths.
The number of victims has increased compared to the most recent statistics from 2023, when the figures were the highest since 2016.
A recent interactive graph revealed the shocking scale of the problem, with some scientists believing climate change is the cause.
A huge hole in the pit was marked with a large warning message in yellow paint reading 'Hole Very Big' on May 30, 2023 in Murrow, Cambridgeshire
An aerial photo revealed the shocking state of Westgate Road, Beckenham, South East London, where huge water-filled potholes look more like small pools
This month, climate charity Round our Way revealed that 952,064 potholes were reported in Britain between January and November last year.
An interactive map shows the local authorities with the most pothole reports in that period.
Edinburgh is the local authority with the most potholes this year (32 potholes per mile), followed by Kirklees in Yorkshire (26.1) and Newcastle upon Tyne (26).
Also in the top 10 are Hillingdon in London (24), Cheshire East (19.8), Darlington (16.9), Bolton (16) and South Gloucestershire (16).
When it comes to damaged vehicles, common problems caused by potholes include broken shock absorbers, defective springs and deformed wheels.
The AA said the total cost of repairing broken down vehicles in Britain was the highest ever, rising from £474 million in 2023.
Britain's 'pothole crisis' has contributed to the highest number of commuters killed or seriously injured in accidents in seven years (Stock Photo)
Locals in a Welsh valley were so fed up with potholes in their area that they put up posters, banners and flags welcoming drivers to 'Pothole land'
'Pothole Land' is a campaign by residents to highlight the terrible road conditions that damage their vehicles and isolate the area's elderly
Locals in a Welsh valley have recently become so fed up with potholes in their area that they put up posters, banners and flags welcoming drivers to 'Pothole land'.
Campaigning residents of villages and hamlets in the Ceiriog Valley, near Wrexham, said some potholes in their streets are so big they have dubbed them 'elephant traps' – and boasted that they are among the 'deepest, longest and widest in Wales' belong.
Drivers in the valley have also incurred huge repair costs and as many as 999 vehicles have been affected.
Wrexham councilor Trevor Bates, who drives a 4×4, said: 'Two broken springs in a few months have cost me £600. This is no joke.
'Yet Wrexham Council has had to bow to the legal powers of the off-road brigade and repair mountain paths at a cost of thousands of pounds – and the Welsh Government can find the money for a new National Park.
'With the acute shortage of funding for rural roads I don't see how there will be any significant improvement in the near future.'
