'Plan would stop short-term fixes'

Phil, with 40 years' experience in road maintenance, said: "Forget short-term fixes, we've got to start funding our national highways better, and ring-fence funding.

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"The Government needs to be creating a five-year or 10-year strategy so local authorities know how they're going to spend their money.

"It would enable councils to do proper preventative maintenance up front, and stop us having to go back and do the emergency stuff."

He said that would help stop local authorities from making "short-term decisions, like pothole repair and patching".

Using an analogy of a house in need of repair, Phil explained: "You wouldn't go and decorate your lounge if your roof was leaking. You'd sort the roof first. That's the way local authorities ought to be spending our money.

"They need to know what they can spend in three years' time, in five years, in 10 years. Then they can select the right treatment at the right value.