The backlog of roadworks in England is so large that it would take 10 years to clear even if engineers were given all the funding needed to carry out the repairs, a survey has claimed.

The current road maintenance funding system is failing everyone, said the Asphalt Industry Alliance (AIA) which conducted the survey.

It showed that according to local authority highway engineers in England it would take until the summer of 2015 to clear the road maintenance backlog - even with the money and resources they needed.

AIA chairman Jim Crick says: "The current system of funding road maintenance is failing everyone and the likelihood of adequate funds becoming available is very remote indeed.

"Money promised from Westminster is not reaching the roads but being siphoned off at local authority level to pay for other services."