Almost two out of five drivers have suffered pothole damage in the past two years, according to new research.

Some 39% of motorists had their tyres, bodywork or other parts of their vehicles affected after hitting a pothole, the AA poll of 25,208 drivers found.

AA president Edmund King urged local authorities to “get to grips with fundamental road maintenance” such as poor drainage and crumbling surfaces.

But councils including Kirklees are facing a massive backlog of reported holes, particularly after the bad weather of the winter.

Pothole in Heys Road, Slaithwaite

The Local Government Association’s transport spokesman Peter Box warned that there is a £12 billion backlog in road repairs that would take councils “more than a decade” to clear.

He added: “Councils fix more potholes than ever - one every 15 seconds - and keeping roads safe is one of the most important jobs we do.

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“Current funding levels, however, and the size of the backlog mean they can only keep pace with patching up our roads and filling potholes.

“Long-term and consistent investment in local road maintenance is desperately needed.”

Kirklees Council repairs many thousands of potholes every year but still has a backlog.

There are more than 40,000 potholes reported every year to Kirklees officials and the repairs for those come out of a budget of just £650,000.

Recent incidents reported to the council include several large potholes in Intake Road and Heys Road, Slaithwaite.

Local driver Stuart Clapperton said: “The holes have appeared after water came up through the road surface some weeks ago. It is still running and the holes are getting worse.

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“One side looks as though the wall alongside the road is set to collapse as the hole is getting bigger.

“I put a traffic cone in another hole to stop drivers running into it”.

A council spokesperson said: “The council has repaired over 25,000 potholes in the last 12 months or 8 for every mile of road in Kirklees. But keeping the local roads in reasonable repair requires constant work. The long period of heavy rain and the winter weather, although milder than normal, has taken a heavy toll on the condition of the roads in Kirklees and the council is constantly undertaking repairs the roads affected. All recent reports of defects have been prioritised and programmed for repair.

"We are aware that there are some issues on Intake Road and these are being dealt with.”

Are potholes blighting your commute? Send your pictures, with details of where they are, to digital@examiner.co.uk or tweet to @Examiner.