FACED by Arctic winters, slashed funding and an ageing road network Bolton Council are in a uphill battle with the town’s potholes, which are as deep as more than 20 double decker buses.

According to the most recent figures 2,119 potholes were reported in Bolton last year.

The data, published by insurance comparison website Confused.com, reveal that when added up the total cumulative depth of Bolton’s potholes was a staggering 85 metres ­— the equivalent of 21 double decker buses stood one on top of the other.

However despite the daunting task Bolton Council has described how it keen to take the fight to the region’s road troubles.

A council spokesman said: “We are doing the best to improve our roads in challenging financial circumstances.

“Funding cuts, consecutive severe winters and a large and ageing road network are all factors which contribute to causing potholes.

“We regularly inspect the road network and people can report potholes on the website.”

Last year the council spent more than £137,000 on repairing potholes on the town’s streets, with a total of 2,016 filled in.

But even so, damage to vehicles caused by potholes still resulted in the council shelling out £11,438 in compensation to motorists.

The council spokesman added: “Despite the financial pressures we are facing, we invested £5.6m to resurface, maintain and repair our roads in 2017/18.

“In 2019/2020, in addition to our usual budget spend on highways, we have also committed £3m to improve residential roads and pavements around the borough.

"£2 million of this will come from our capital fund for 2019/20 and another £1million will be also used to upgrade roads and footpaths.”

Across the region motorist’s pothole problems are getting deeper.

According to the latest figures, almost 98,000 potholes were reported to councils in the North West last year.

These potholes stretch to a combined near 4km depth ­— nearly twice as deep as the world’s deepest natural cave in the Georgian Caucasus and 22.4 times as deep as the English Channel.

Nationally, 34 per cent of drivers have had damage to their vehicle as a result of poor road conditions, with more than one in seven incidents occurring during February ­— the most prolific month for pothole related vehicle damage.

Most of the damage done is to vehicle’s tyres, around 53 per cent. But a quarter of reported damage was to suspension, which can be costly to fix.

Further almost a third of UK drivers say they have had an accident or near miss caused by a pothole.