Surrey and Hampshire have been named the two worst regions in the UK for potholes, according to a list by a cycling charity.

With 325 new road defects logged this year alone, Hampshire took the top spot, with Surrey coming in a close second with 285.

The damning list has been compiled by Fill That Hole, which is run by charity Cycling UK and logs reports of potholes before passing the details to local authorities.

And while the reports were mostly made by cyclists, experts say it provides an important snapshot of the state of the UK’s decaying highways for all road users.

For the year so far, Hampshire amassed 325 pothole complaints, compared to 285 for Surrey, 235 for Devon, 234 for Cheshire and 230 for Gloucestershire.

Many of the written reports feature potholes said to represent a threat to the lives of cyclists, amid descriptions of "gargantuan" craters in the road.

James O' Malley, company director of leading UK car leasing firm Select Car Leasing, says the situation is likely to get worse during a fast approaching winter forecasted to be the coldest in decades.

He said: "It's vital councils get to grips with the ongoing threat posed by potholes as this is a problem that's been steadily getting worse and worse for the last decade.

"And according to recent forecasts,with Britain apparently set for another cold winter, the state of the nation's roads are set to deteriorate further still.

"Potholes are a danger to all road users and they cause untold damage to vehicles.

"As gaping chasms in the Tarmac become more and more widespread, it's now virtually impossible to dodge them during your journey."

Some of the Fill That Hole reports make for disturbing reading.

At present there are 4,092 "current" hazards in Hampshire potholes and road defects that haven't been rectified by the council, despite many of them having been on the list for several years.

One recent report from October 2 tells of a pothole on the A327 near Eversley that's "hard to avoid/swerve without going into oncoming traffic".

Another October report concerned the Croydon Flyover, and explained, "hit this in the dark. Seemed like a massive hole as it jolted the whole car. Two other cars had seemingly already hit it and possibly been damaged as they were stopped at the side of the road".

In August this year, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) revealed its own research findings into road holes, hitting local authorities with Freedom of Information requests to help get a fuller picture.

The FSB found almost 700,000 potholes and road defects were reported to councils in the preceding twelve months across England - up significantly from 616,557 in 2018.

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Figures also show local authorities had spent almost £1billion fixing roads across the country.

TOP 15 COUNTIES FOR POTHOLE COMPLAINTS