BURY has more vehicles damaged by potholes than any other borough in Greater Manchester.

A total of 292 claims for damage to vehicles were made to Bury Council during the period 2015/16 – more than double the previous year.

And there has also been a huge increase in the number of complaints during the same period.

Tottington Road in Bury has taken over from Ramsbottom’s Nuttall Lane and Bury New Road as the worst road for potholes in the borough, according to a survey carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The news comes despite Bury Council upping its spending on mending carriageways from £1.77 million to £2.25 million in 2015/16.

FSB Manchester’s regional chairman, Simon Edmondson, expressed concern about how the poor state of the roads could impact on local businesses.

He said: “We know our members rely heavily on the local road networks to do business. Their staff, their customers, as well as trade deliveries, all rely on fast and efficient road networks.

“Poorly maintained infrastructure hampers growth and presents a low rent image.”

Mr Edmondson said that small businesses need a dense, well-maintained road network to compete and grow. He stressed the importance of investing in infrastructure to improve productivity.

Across Greater Manchester as a whole there were 26, 524 complaints concerning potholes and damaged roads. This is an increase on previous years and is equivalent to 73 complaints every single day.

Mr Edmondson said: “This tells a story that most road users, from bikes to bus drivers will, regrettably, be only too familiar with.”

The survey revealed that Salford Council had the smallest number of claims for pothole damage — just 20 in 2015/16.

A spokesman for Bury Council stressed that they are spending large sums on repairing roads.

He said: “We are spending huge sums on tackling highway repairs and potholes – in fact, in February this year, we announced £10 million of extra funding. In the last few weeks, for instance, we have made major improvements to worn out roads across the borough, including Arthur Lane in Ainsworth, and Lowercroft Road, and we have just started a £320,000 resurfacing scheme in Railway Street/Rowlands Road in Summerseat.

“We have also invested heavily in new technology which enables us to carry out pothole repairs more quickly. We will continue to invest in the borough’s roads, despite having to deal with budget cuts of nearly £100 million.”