DANGEROUS roads throughout Slough required more than £85,000 in council funds to fix in the last 12 months.

Local authorities need more than £12 billion to bring the road network up to scratch, with the average council experiencing severe cuts in their highways and maintenance budgets.

Slough is no expection to this rule after losing £1.5 million over the last five years, with 50 potholes currently on the council's waiting list for repair.

The borough's leader for highways says they are now 'paying the penalty' for investing in the road network, after experiencing a dramatic decline in funding from Westminster.

Councillor Fiza Matloob, commissioner for transport and highways, said: “Slough is known for the high quality of our road surfaces and we have won awards for our maintenance of the Slough network.

“Unfortunately, now we appear to be paying the penalty for our years of investment as government contributions have been dramatically cut. Though there are cuts for everyone, the gap between Slough and the money given to our neighbouring authorities is significant.

“Councils appear to be getting more money if they have neglected their roads and pavements and have a poor reputation for road maintenance, which hardly seems fair.

“However, we have decided, in difficult financial times, to take a more preventative approach and do increased planned proactive work on our road surfaces rather than just patching problems when they arise. This will hopefully mean fewer potholes overall – though obviously we will continue our high-quality rapid response if any arise."

Slough Borough Council fixed 2,150 potholes in the last 12 months at a cost of £85,045, with the outstanding damaged roads likely to cost a further £1,750.

A report commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) found the number of potholes filled by councils fell by 19 per cent in England last year.

AIA president Edmund King said: "It is clear that the plague of potholes aren't going to be filled any time soon.

“Even before getting to a main road drivers are using pothole-riddled roads, which they would be lucky to see resurfaced in their lifetime as it takes councils 87 years to get round to it.

“The Government needs to confront the funding shortfall head on and help fund repairs and resurfacing work quicker. If not, our streets will continue to resemble Swiss cheese rather than smooth highways.”