Harsh winter weather has led to one of the worst quarters for pothole breakdowns, according to the RAC.

RAC patrols saw the third highest quarterly share of pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2018

Data analysis by the organisation found the percentage of RAC breakdowns likely to be attributed to damage from potholes and poor roads doubled to 2.3% from 1.2% in the last quarter of 2017.

The organisation added that the sheer volume of ‘pothole breakdowns’ wasn’t as high as might have been expected considering the severity of the cold weather, but warned that it expects to see more vehicles suffering pothole damage in the second quarter of 2018 compared with recent years.

It also said that the RAC Pothole Index – a 12-month rolling measure of the share of pothole fault breakdowns compared to 2006 – has worsened slightly in Q1 2018, marking the fourth successive quarter that declines have been seen following a period of slow improvement.

RAC chief engineer David Bizley commented: “We will be monitoring the situation very closely to see what effect the harsh winter weather has had. If the index doesn’t reduce or, worse still, continues to increase then this will be a very strong indication that our roads are still in a dire state of repair.”