Councillor vows to lobby government for more cash to fix Harborough's battered roads

Cllr Byron Rhodes, Leicestershire County Council’s deputy leader and finance lead, said the authority should be much better funded.

He spoke out after the County Councils Network said East Midlands councils nationally spend the least per mile on road repairs and pothole filling.

A new study shows that councils in London plan to spend double the amount of almost every single region in England.

Per mile expenditure is lowest in the East Midlands (£21,276), followed by the North East (£22,403) and the South West (£24,539).

County councils say they know it is vital roads are looked after but lack the money to carry out complete repairs.

Cllr Rhodes, whose council maintains 2,575 miles of roads, said: “Against the backdrop of being the lowest-funded county in the country, we have planned ahead for reduced funding and saved £200 million so far.

"But, with demand for services increasing, pressure on our budget is tightening and that’s been keenly felt in highways where we’ve seen a fall of £105m of investment in our roads since 2009/10.”

He added: “We still have some of the best roads in the country, but Leicestershire is at the back of the queue when it comes to funding.

“We’ll be lobbying the new government extremely hard, along with our MPs, to ensure we have a better deal for the county.”