CALLS have been made for fuel tax cash to help fund road repairs.

The Local Government Association (LGA) which represents 370 councils in England and Wales, wants two pence per litre of existing fuel duty to be used to generate £1 billion a year for local authorities to fund roads maintenance.

Councils estimate it would take £9.3 billion and more than 14 years to clear the current local road repairs backlog.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s £17.5million, four-year Network Recovery Programme came to an end in March last year, with spending on highways subsequently reduced.

In 2017/18, the council was granted £2.4 million in government funding for repairing potholes.

The call came after new analysis showed drivers in England spent more than one million years on the road in 2016.

Some 277 billion miles were driven during the year, equivalent to 989 return trips to the planet Mars, the LGA said.

It claimed the government figures highlight the "urgent need" for more investment in local roads, where two-thirds of all mileage is driven.

The organisation's transport spokesman, Martin Tett, said: "The amount of time drivers are spending on our roads continues to skyrocket.

"It is more important than ever for the government to further invest in local roads.

"Only long-term and consistent investment in local road maintenance will allow councils to embark on the widespread improvement of our roads that is desperately needed, to the benefit of all road users up and down the country."

Breakdown rescue firm the RAC said the proportion of call-outs caused by pothole-related damage almost doubled between January and March compared with the previous three months.

It warned that the freezing conditions brought by the Beast from the East could lead to the situation deteriorating in the coming weeks.