Conditions on Dorset’s roads are ‘improving’ despite county civic chiefs being landed with a £600k post-Beast pothole repair bill.

New figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) have revealed that road quality across Dorset has improved since 2009.

Survey data shows Dorset County Council had four per cent of its trunk road network in need of repair in 2009/10, but only three per cent, or 10.7km out of 358km, in the same condition in 2016/17.

The condition of minor roads also improved with only 155km (four per cent) of 3,878km of minor roads in the Dorset county area requiring repair, compared with eight per cent in 2009/10.

Meanwhile, nationally, around three per cent (883km) of A-roads in England in 2016-17 were deemed to be in a poor condition while five per cent (14,420km) of minor roads (B, C and unclassified) in England were in a poor condition.

Alongside this, 22,000 miles of roads across the country also fell below the top standard in surveys carried out by the DfT.

As well as this, a study commissioned by the Asphalt Industry Alliance said that the cost of getting roads in England and Wales back into a reasonable condition has increased to more than £12bn.

However, bosses at the RAC have dismissed the DfTs figures saying that the county’s roads have got much worse.

Simon Williams, a spokesman for the RAC, added: “Local roads across Britain including in Dorset are suffering from years of underinvestment, which is why the RAC believes the Government, as a matter of urgency, needs to look at the issue from a long-term point of view. This means identifying a funding strategy to address both prevention and cure, and give local authorities certainty of funding so they are able to plan ahead.”

“Before the cold snap the condition of many local roads was on a knife edge with many councils struggling to fix our roads properly.

“But now, as a result of the ‘Beast from the East’ some local roads will have deteriorated even further, possibly to the point that they represent a serious risk to the safety of users.”

It comes after the Government provided councils with more than £6.1 billion for highways maintenance, including a £296 million pothole action fund of which Dorset County Council received £1.4 million in the aftermath of the ‘Beast from the East’ snowstorm last month which disrupted a variety of services.