Highways bosses have been accused of letting the district’s roads slip into a “medieval” state of disrepair, despite promises of a pothole blitz.

Campaigners claim more needs to be done to repair potholes and broken pavements which are becoming commonplace.

The complaints come despite Kent County Council leaders pledging to spend £2.5 million on road repairs this year.

Dr Brian Whiting, from Bridge, said: “Having lived in Canterbury for 30 years I have enjoyed walking around the city admiring the ancient buildings and driving through the lovely Kent countryside.

“But now KCC is enhancing the medieval experience for tourists by creating potholed streets complete with muddy puddles, broken paving with weeds and dried chewing gum, an additional modern twist, and litter-strewn roads.

“I suspect that the Highways Department spend their weekends participating in medieval re-enactments to hone their craft, so I hope our tourist visitors appreciate their efforts.”

The state of roads is causing concern across the district.

In Tankerton, Strangford Road is peppered with crater-sized holes with painted white rings around them, indicating that repairs are on their way. But residents are not holding their breath.

Dr Whiting, of Conyngham Lane, added: “It has been noticeable that there has been very little repair activity going on in the last couple of months, for example on the A2 southbound between Lydden and Whitfield.”

The Gazette revealed last week how more than 500 pothole compensation claims from motorists had been rejected by KCC in the last two years.

They were dismissed on the grounds that the council was planning to repair the roads in the future.

KCC bosses say they will tackle the problem with a multi-million pound cash pledge.

A spokesman said: “The council is spending an additional £2.5 million on pothole repairs this year.

“The pothole blitz will see six local providers operating in two districts, and each will dedicate two pothole gangs per district to ensure that work is very locally responsive.”

“Resurfacing roads is an essential part of maintaining our 5,400- mile road network for longer and we schedule in planned work, where necessary, each year, usually during warmer months.

“Our resurfacing programme is published on Kent.gov and our programme is based on road condition data.

“This includes regular inspections, annual surveys using specialist equipment, and reports from councillors, parish councils, community groups and residents.”

Anyone unhappy with the condition of their roads is encouraged to report the issue online.

The spokesman added: “Our inspectors regularly check for defects but we encourage people to help us identify any problems and report them via our customer-friendly online reporting tool at www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem.”