A third of drivers have suffered damage to their cars from potholes over the past two years, a new survey suggests.
A third also rated the overall condition of their local roads as either 'poor', 'very poor' or 'terrible' in the survey of 23,000 drivers conducted by AA/Populus.
In addition to this, the Asphalt Industry Alliance, which represents companies who manufacture materials used in road repair, has said that the total cost of bringing Britain's roads up to scratch could be as much as £10.5bn.
Last year's extreme rainfall is estimated to have caused an extra £338m of damage to the road network.
The Alliance also claims that, in addition to the immense cost, it will take 12 years to clear the backlog of Britain's potholes. Meanwhile, one in five roads in Britain is estimated to have less than five years of life remaining.
But despite the crumbling condition of UK roads, local councils spent just £113m filling potholes last year and a further £32m settling compensation claims for drivers whose cars have been damaged by potholes.
The amount being paid out in compensation by councils is likely to rise too. The road maintenance campaign website Potholes.co.uk has seen record numbers of visitors reporting potholes and resulting damage to their vehicles in the last three months.
AIA Chairman, Alan Mackenzie, criticised local councils' make-do-and-mend attitude towards road repair, saying: "Constantly having to patch up crumbling roads rather than using highway engineers' skills properly, to ensure good road condition in a planned and cost effective way, is nonsensical and costly to the country."
