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.
Increasing numbers of workmen are being attacked by motorists while filling potholes, according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance
Workers are being attacked by motorists while filling potholes and have been sworn at, spat at and even punched, the Asphalt Industry Alliance says
Workers are being attacked by motorists while filling potholes and have been sworn at, spat at and even punched, the Asphalt Industry Alliance says
'People have got out of their cars and abused workmen – pushed them, hit them.
'It's the public's frustration at the fact that it takes so long to get round to repairing roads. I was out filming the other day and a van driver stopped, thinking we were working for the local authority, and what we got was a string of expletives saying, 'why haven't you fixed this f***ing pothole already, it's f***ing dangerous', and so on. And that's just a mild example.'
Mr Giles said drivers had 'a right' to expect smooth and well-maintained roads because they were a 'national service' and town halls had a legal duty to ensure they were safe to travel on.
But he said Britain had 'heavily trafficked' roads compared to other countries and that less than 1 per cent of the network's asset value of £550billion was being spent by councils on maintaining them.
This 'dramatic underspend' over several years is less than half the 2 per cent recommendation of the OECD group of countries, he said, adding that cash-strapped councils tend to focus on 'patching' up roads by filling potholes rather than completely resurfacing roads as this is cheaper.
Highway maintenance budgets in England and Wales for 2025-26 increased by around 17 per cent to an average £30.5million per town hall after Labour gave them a £1.6bn funding boost.
But town halls say more than this was needed for them to maintain the local roads network to their target conditions.
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 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.'
