More than half a million potholes were reported by members of the public to local authorities in Britain for repair in 2017 – an increase of 44% on two years earlier, according to the RAC.
A freedom of information request made to the 212 councils in England, Scotland and Wales responsible for roads found 512,270 potholes were reported last year to 161 authorities compared to 356,432 from 152 councils in 2015.
But when extrapolating the numbers to take account of the likely reports from the authorities who were unable to provide the RAC with data, the total is probably nearer 674,229 in 2017. The 2015 equivalent is 508,651 which represents a smaller increase of 33%.