By DAVID CHURCHILL, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
Published: 20:01 EDT, 16 March 2026 | Updated: 05:09 EDT, 17 March 2026
Attacks on workmen by motorists have surged as anger grows over Britain's record £19billion pothole backlog, it emerged tonight .
Workers are being sworn at, spat at and even punched amid growing delays in fixing potholes, industry leaders revealed.
The disclosure came as a report found the repair bill to fix Britain's pock-marked local roads has jumped to £18.6billion – up from £17billion last year.
The annual Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) study also found town hall-maintained local roads are being resurfaced on average every 97 years, up from 93.
While the report welcomed a funding boost from the Government, it said this had improved roads only 'marginally' following years of 'dramatic underspending'.
Almost half of local roads (49 per cent) in England and Wales are set to crumble and become unusable within 15 years, while one in six will do so within the next five years.
AIA chairman David Giles told the Daily Mail that drivers' anger amid rocketing pump prices and motoring taxes was reaching breaking point.
He said: 'We've got workers who were attacked every day either verbally or even physically. People who are actually out there repairing the roads get shouted at, spat at and even hit.
Workers are being attacked by motorists while filling potholes and have been sworn at, spat at and even punched, the Asphalt Industry Alliance says
The backlog of potholes has grown so large across England and Wales that it would cost nearly £19bn to fix them all, the Asphalt Industry Alliance says
The backlog of potholes has grown so large across England and Wales that it would cost nearly £19bn to fix them all, the Asphalt Industry Alliance says
The AIA surveyed all town halls in England and Wales, with four in five responding.
AA President Edmund King said the report 'starkly warns us how much more needs to be done to eradicate this plague of potholes.'
The RAC's Simon Williams added: 'We hope new record levels of funding from central Government and a commitment to longer-term investment that allow councils to plan highways maintenance will mean we start to turn a corner – although it will be some time before drivers notice a real difference.'
The Department for Transport said: 'This report rightly highlights the need to improve our roads. That's why, after years of under-investment, we're providing a record £7.3billion in long-term funding, to help councils resurface roads and fix the pothole plague.'