Vehicle breakdowns caused by potholes have reached a five-year high, new figures suggest.

The RAC said it received 8,170 callouts to breakdowns due to poor road surfaces in the UK between April and June.

That was 40% more than during the same period last year, and the most for those three months since the so-called Beast from the East cold snap plunged much of the country into a deep freeze in 2018.

Common vehicle problems caused by potholes include damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs and distorted wheels.

Freedom of Information requests made by the RAC also revealed UK councils forked out a total of more than £11 million over the last four financial years to drivers who successfully claimed their vehicles were damaged by potholes.

The cost of bringing pothole-plagued local roads in England and Wales up to scratch has been estimated at £14 billion.

Councils are facing a toxic combination of higher material costs, higher contractor and labour costs and a cold and wet recent winter

Potholes are often formed when water enters cracks in the road surface, then freezes and expands.

RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes attributed the rise in pothole-related breakdowns to several spells of below-average temperatures followed by rainfall.

He said: “It’s also important to note that last winter wasn’t particularly harsh, which demonstrates very clearly just how fragile our local roads really are.

“Councils are facing a toxic combination of higher material costs, higher contractor and labour costs and a cold and wet recent winter.

“It may well be the case that even with more money being spent on the roads, much of this will be getting eaten up by inflationary pressures.

“All of this adds weight to the argument that councils should invest more in innovative machinery that can fix potholes as quickly and permanently as possible.”

Councillor Linda Taylor, of the Local Government Association which represents English councils, said: “Councils would much prefer to invest in preventative measures rather than pay compensation or reactively fix potholes, which works out more expensive in the long term.

“However, even though a recent £200 million boost in this year’s budget will help, the funding situation still remains very challenging.

“Despite the best efforts of councils, our local road repair backlog is now the biggest it has ever been. Without any more additional funding, it is estimated that it would cost £14 billion and take 11 years to clear.

“Only by the Government providing councils with increased and long term funding certainty can this growing problem be addressed and our roads bought up to scratch.”